During last year's Cannes Film Festival, two Netflix original films competed for the festival's top prize, the Palme D'Or. However, traditional French media and cinephiles decried the inclusion of two projects that were never intended to be given a theatrical release, causing a stir during 2017's proceedings.
Last month, the festival's director Thierry Frémaux announced that the films squaring off in the festival's most prestigious category are required to be shown on a more traditional silver screen in France in order to qualify. Furthermore, French law requires a gap of 36 months between a film's physical release and its appearance on a streaming service, which will undoubtably pose a challenge to Netflix in the quest to have their cinematic productions gain industry recognition.
As a result, the company is threatening to pull all five of its contributions to this year's festival if these restrictive mandates remain in place. The titles include: Norway, a documentary helmed by Jason Bourne director Paul Greengrass; Hold the Dark, starring Alexander Skarsgard; Roma, from Oscar-winner Alfonso Cuaron; They'll Love Me When I'm Dead, a documentary chronicling legendary filmmaker Orson Welles; alongside a restoration of Welles' unfinished project The Other Side of the Wind.
Frank Marshall, the producer backing The Other Side of the Wind, has expressed some fear over having his film pulled from the festival, even though it is being shown out of competition, noting how "we are collateral damage if they decide not to go."
Netflix and officials at the Cannes Film Festival are still deliberating the term's of their inclusion in the proceedings.
