After reading endless articles about Cannes being irrelevent, and about how Sundance and Toronto are now the premier film festivals, is Cannes rotting on the vine? Have Robert Redford and Toroto taken over? It certainly apperears that Cannes has taken itself out of the running. I guess it gets down to Sundance and Toronto.
I don’t think Cannes is really irrelevant, certainly from a prestige point of view. It’s still the most important and best-known festival in Europe. Possibly it has less importance to Americans.
This article by Derek Malcolm seems typical of assessments that it hasn’t been a good year, but this is due largely to one-off factors beyond their control, like half a dozen major directors not having finished their films on time. It also says last year’s festival was excellent, which hardly points to a serious decay.
Certainly Sundance is very important, particularly in America, but I think in Europe at least Cannes carries more cachet. Cannes is also a major place for dealing, setting up projects and selling (European) distribution rights. It also seems to be more open to American cinema than it has been at times in the past, and is still stirring up a lot of controversy and press coverage. And it’s right next to a sunny beach. How can it fail?