Film journalists yesterday received notices of a joint statement of cooperation between the Telluride, Toronto, Venice and New York Film Fests. Here it is:
It's an interesting and perhaps a not entirely unexpected statement from all four fests. It is, also light on any kind of detail in terms of what that cooperation means in a practical sense.
Kris Tapley tweeted about the announcement this way:
"Not entirely sure what this is actually saying beyond vaguely recognizing that there won’t be a crop of films big enough to sustain the usual jockeying for exclusivity."
Writing for Deadline, Tom Grater:
"Traditionally the first port of call for films intending to launch into awards season, the fests are facing major changes to their 2020 editions due to ongoing virus disruption. In a joint statement today the event’s top brass say they are looking beyond the typical competitiveness that exists. It’s not clear exactly how that will manifest, but it may mean less of the typical scrapping to secure the top premieres in the best slots – the events are already planning to scale back their programs this year, and the Oscars being postponed to April 21 for 2021 also puts less pressure on landing those big contenders."
Yesterday afternoon Indiewire's Eric Kohn posted an informative piece about the cooperation announcement that included some clear statements about TFF #47
Kohn says:
1) Francis Lee's Ammonite will play TFF:
"Kate Winslet-starring lesbian drama “Ammonite,” a Cannes 2020 selection set to open this year from Neon, is slated at both Telluride and TIFF"
2) Documentary Notturno from Fire at Sea director Gianfranco Rosi will also play Telluride:
“Notturno,” a documentary from Oscar-nominated filmmaker Gianfranco Rosi set in the Middle East, will also hit the quartet of fall festivals with eye towards making its way into the documentary Oscar race."
3) Kohn says Telluride will be smaller and have considerable overlap (see below regarding average overlap):
"Both TIFF and Venice have already announced significant curtailing to their usual vast lineups, with 50 movies playing in each. (TIFF usually programs over 300.) Telluride and New York also will have smaller lineups and don’t utilize specific premiere policies, but they have been looking at many of the same titles in the programming process. Even without a specific mandate to combine forces, considerable overlap would be inevitable."
4) Telluride's Town Council is set to vote on the Film Fest proceeding on July 15th:
"And Telluride faces a vote from the Colorado mountain town’s city council on July 15 to determine whether it can hold the event at all"
5) Venice and Telluride may co-premiere some films:
"The festival heads jointly declined to comment for this story. However, sources said that Venice was ambivalent about whether official “collaboration” between the festivals would impact a change to its premiere policy, since it comes first in the calendar. However, the festival was exploring the possibility of hosting joint premieres timed to take place simultaneously in Telluride."
6) Kohn suggests that virtual Telluride screenings are a possibility:
"The programming heads debated the merits of holding virtual editions if physical gatherings become impossible; for the moment, all four festivals are exploring ways of combining physical and virtual aspects of their programs. That led to conversations about the ideal online screening platforms, safety standards, and protocols for handling filmmaker and industry guests, should choose to travel."
So... perhaps more overlap between fests? For Telluride and Toronto that overlap has averaged 17.8 films per year over the past five years. For New York it's 7.6 films per year and for Venice it's been 7.0 films per year.
As a parenthetical note I'll remind everyone that Indiewire suggested a few weeks back that Telluride would make some details known about its approach to their festival in "mid-July". The above assessment from Kohn suggests that we'll find out some details after the town council votes on the 15th.
ANOTHER FEST GOES DOWN
Austin, TX. based Fantastic Fest has announced that it will not have a 2020 event due to Covid-19 . The fest was originally scheduled for Sept. 24-Oct. 1.
The Cancellation of the fest is notable for Telluride observers as its announcement of titles each year would often provide information that allowed confirmation of a film for Telluride inclusion or exclusion.
Though the fest's press release says that the organizers have decided that a virtual event will not occur with new films, there will be a "Celebration of Fantastic Fest" online that will provide events online to highlight the festival's past.
Fest organizers have pledged that Fantastic Fest will return in 2021.
VENICE OUTLINES PLANS
The Venice Film Fest will be scaled down this year. Variety reporting on Tuesday that the venerable film fest will screen 50-55 feature films with their announcement of what films will be playing revealed on July 28th.
Other items...they'll have two outdoor venues and will scrap some normal sections of their fest.
It will be interesting over the next few weeks as we hear from both Venice and Toronto what they will be screening and how the status for each film is characterized.
As a side note, in a separately published interview with Variety Venice head Alberto Barbera reveals that David Fincher's Mank isn't ready which Barbera implies is a reason that it won't be at Venice, may blow a big hole in my "Netflix surprisingly plays films at Telluride" theory.
SPC TEASES FRENCH EXIT
Sony Pictures Classics tweeted a first look at the Michelle Pfeiffer starring French Exit this week. Here's the photo:
Their tweet's text was simply:
French Exit.
Coming Soon.
Made me wonder if I should move it up into the next iteration of the Ten Bets (which I'll post next Thursday).
EMAIL: mpgort@gmail.com
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