What future for cinemas? While the government has announced the end of confinement for May 11, French theaters are expected to remain closed beyond this date. Indeed, how can spectators be protected in an enclosed space, where the distances between each are often reduced? And what about the Cannes Film Festival, the organizers of which refuse to cancel?
In the program C à Vous on Thursday April 23, Pierre Lescure put forward some lines of reflection.
Distance of one meter between each spectator
According to the President of the Cannes Film Festival, the various actors in the film industry and the government are currently working on the issue. They especially hope that the dark rooms will be able to accommodate the public from the end of June, following the example of the resumption of transport and restaurants: “We will be six weeks away from deconfinement. If there is no alert, backlash, boomerang effect, [...] can we imagine that some cinemas are reopening? ” , wonders Pierre Lescure.
If you arrive with your husband or one of your sons (in the room) you stay together since you came together
Pierre Lescure, president of the Cannes FestivalThe president of the National Federation of French Cinemas (FNCF) Richard Patry thus believes in "the possibility of a reopening in a second time, between May 11 and mid-July" . For him, it would be "a chance for French cinema". "We will be able to resume (the films) which were released on March 11, just before confinement," he said to the Parisian in mid-April. The Minister of Culture Franck Riester however recognized in Le Monde that we "did not know" for the moment when the rooms could reopen.
Read also: Festivals, cinemas ... "We must respect very strict sanitary rules", says Franck Riester
But the film industry does not have "too many illusions" specifies Pierre Lescure. Because if July 1 a reopening is possible, many precautionary measures will have to be implemented in the establishments. The reception in the halls would thus be reduced to 50% of their capacity in order to "leave a meter between each spectator, to the right, to the left, in front of, behind," announced the president of the Cannes festival. "If you arrive with your husband or one of your sons, Anne-Elisabeth, you stay together since you came together," he adds for the presenter of C à Vous .
On the other hand, if the wearing of the mask will be compulsory in the entrance hall of the cinema and when approaching the rooms, it will be possible to remove it once in the room. As for ventilation, which plays a crucial role in the spread of the virus, it would be activated for twenty minutes between each session instead of the usual five minutes, "so that the air is completely transformed" .
A winter edition of the Cannes Festival?
The fate of the Cannes Film Festival remains uncertain since Emmanuel Macron announced that "major festivals and events with large audiences cannot be held until at least mid-July next". The general delegate of the Cannes Film Festival Thierry Frémaux, who was considering a postponement for the end of June-early July, however refused to throw in the towel completely, saying that the event could be maintained in another form.
Read also: The Cannes Film Festival is still looking for the solution to avoid cancellation
“With Thierry Frémaux, we did not say“ We are canceling the 2020 edition ”, because 2020 ends on December 31. The Cannes Film Festival is the symbol of life and of the dynamics and desire for cinema, just as there is a desire for theater and a desire for culture in general, ” observes Pierre Lescure in C à Vous . The major event of the seventh art could therefore be presented either in the form of "a one-off event, or over a series of events, but a celebration of cinema back in cinemas". The two men do not give up the idea of organizing the festival in 2020. They thus envisage that it “ can take place at the end of the summer, in September, or even further by the end of the 'year' .
Thierry Frémaux had also mentioned the possibility of creating “a Cannes2020 label” , which could be associated with the parallel sections of the festival and which “would make it possible to enhance the films seen” and which were to appear in the various selections. "We want to be present in the fall to contribute to the vast project of the reconquest of cinema," he added in an interview with Le Figaro .
Read also: Cannes 2020: no digital version of the Festival in case of cancellation
According to FNCF estimates, admissions to French theaters are expected to be 55 million lower over the period from early January to late May compared to last year. This represents a loss of more than 370 million euros for the sector.
