CANNES, France (CelebrityAccess) — Netflix has been banned from competing with its original content for the top prize in the Cannes International Film Festival — the Palme d’Or .
Theirry Fremaux, the head of the festival, told THR that Netflix’s original content would not be allowed to compete in the international film competition because Netflix refuses to release its films into theatres.
Cannes organizers faced criticism last year after Netflix was allowed to submit two films for consideration — “Okja” and “The Meyerowitz Stories.” According to Fremaux, Cannes allowed the films because they thought they could convince Netflix to do a theatrical release for the two films.
“Last year, when we selected these two films, I thought I could convince Netflix to release them in cinemas,” Fremaux told THR. “I was presumptuous, they refused.”
“The Netflix people loved the red carpet and would like to be present with other films. But they understand that the intransigence of their own model is now the opposite of ours,” he added.
Despite the announced ban, Fremaux said he remains open to Netflix submitting films for Cannes in the future and noted that the festival needs to address the changing landscape of film distrubtion, but not just now.
“Cinema [still] triumphs everywhere even in this golden age of series,” he told THR. “The history of cinema and the history of the internet are two different things.”
