A festival to bring them all together. Like almost all tech conventions and trade shows, film festivals have to adapt to the restrictions of the Covid-19 epidemic. The Cannes festival will not be held in its usual format this year and it is not the only one.
Connecting people requires, and because cinema must be brought to life, Tribeca, organizer of the American independent film festival of the same name, launched We Are One: Global Film Festival on Tuesday, April 28.
Without totally replacing them, the event is intended to be a global, online edition that brings together the biggest film festivals of the seventh art, such as Cannes, the Berlinale and the Venice Mostra from May 29 to June 7.
The programme has not yet been announced, but a selection of films from nearly 20 festivals around the world will be broadcast live and free of charge on Youtube.
#Breaking Today we are so proud to join forces with other major film festivals from around the world to announce “We Are One: A Global Film Festival”, an unprecedented digital event on @YouTube. Check out & subscribe: https://t.co/ikUrp8imlB. Starts May 29. #WeAreOne #Berlinale pic.twitter.com/48K2b8sMwd
— Berlinale (@berlinale) April 27, 2020
In addition to screenings of short and feature-length films or documentaries, this streaming festival would also offer virtual round tables to exchange around cinema and projected works as well as musical events.
According to Tribeca CEO Jane Rosentha, in her statement, “We are One: A Global Film Festival brings together programmers, artists and storytellers to entertain and relieve audiences around the world.
By working with our outstanding partners and Youtube, we hope that everyone will get a glimpse of what makes each festival so unique and that they will appreciate the art and power of film”.
As explained above, this event does not replace all film festivals, some of which are not totally cancelled. This is the case of Cannes and the Venice Mostra, for example.
Perhaps the IFA 2020, first cancelled before being redesigned in a (still partly physical) “new and alternative” format, could be inspired by it. We have contacted the organisers and will keep you informed very soon.
