Does Cannes Matter?

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Indiewire's Eugene Hernandez posted a piece last night that asks this question and offers answers in the form of quotes from Emerging Pictures Ira Deutchman, Sony Classics' Tom Bernard, MCN's David Poland (a longtime Cannes non-attender), the Sarasota Film Festival's Tom Hall, an anonymous insider who hasn't returned this year out of annoyance and frustration, and myself.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on May 12, 2009 at 11:31 PM

comment #1

T. Holly says ...

Good reading for tomorrow, but wasn't that the point of half the Rex Weiner piece you didn't quote? All festivals are important, especially the markets, but reportage is king.

Posted by T. Holly at May 12, 2009 11:53 PM

comment #2

T. Holly says ...

One more thing, is that the only piece of research Weiner's reported for HuffPo (likely without pay for exposure, or noted attributions, but seems sourced and not necessarily fact checked)? The Cannes fog is catching.

Posted by T. Holly at May 13, 2009 12:44 AM

comment #3

bfm says ...

Of course Cannes matters. It's still the most prestigious by a country mile. Are other festivals gaining in importance? Sure. But Cannes is still the gold standard.

Posted by bfm at May 13, 2009 1:22 AM

comment #4

byanyother says ...

It's funny that, in the end, David Poland gives the most reasoned response. Cannes isn't going anywhere, though. It's an industry onto itself and it's just too much a part of tradition to ever be dumped or even less attended. But I'm weary of and suspicious of early word on films no matter what the festival. Sometimes it's foolproof (No Country, There Will Be Blood) - other times it's a very long and tiresome dry hump (Che).

Posted by byanyother at May 13, 2009 6:22 AM

comment #5

T. Holly says ...

I can do it if I want at unpaid screenings as long as I do it in the areas where no one can see me. Like I never would have pushed myself to discover Chris Pine looked like a shrunken head if I hadn't, I'd have just said he looks funny to myself.

Posted by T. Holly at May 13, 2009 8:55 AM

comment #6