Contrary to the weather in Cannes, a good weather warning prevailed on the Marché du film, the commercial platform of the Cannes Film Festival. This edition, whose guest of honor was Spain, closed on Wednesday with “a record participation”, with more than 14,000 accredited professionals from 120 countries. The 2023 vintage far surpasses the last record set in pre-pandemic times: that of 2019 with 12,500 accredited.
“We exceed the figures from before the Covid crisis, which is an excellent indicator”, welcomed the managing director Guillaume Esmiol. This progression is explained “by the increase in the number of professionals from Asia and Africa, a continent which had a flag or a few countries in particular such as Australia or Spain”, deciphered the manager ” Other countries have returned, such as Morocco or South Africa”, while India, guest of honor last year, “has further increased its participation”.
Spain was in the spotlight, with more than 500 professionals present, thus benefiting from “more visibility thanks to a series of privileged presentations of works or projects”. The Film Market “cannot counter the decline in film production or cinema attendance” in some countries. But, following the example of Spain, “it makes it possible to attract future productions and to find business opportunities”, further explained its deputy director.
Among the titles that raised the auction fever, the third installment of the adventures of Paddington bear. Sony has picked up the rights to the family film, produced by StudioCanal, for the North American continent and several non-European territories.
In the running for the Palme d’Or, Todd Haynes’ pastiche drama May December, starring Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman, prompted Netflix to pull out the checkbook. The platform paid 11 million dollars to be the distributor in the United States of this game of mirrors between the two actresses.
Independent film distributor Neon, famous for its Oscar-winning parasitic South Korean satire, continued its ardor and landed Justine Triet’s acclaimed trial film Anatomy with a fall. The drama, which could earn German actress Sandra Hüller a Cannes interpretation award, can hope, if successful, to be highlighted in the upcoming awards season.
But these successes cannot mask the nervousness within the Film Market faced with the prospect of a Hollywood, brought to a standstill by a general strike of its talents. Since the beginning of May, the screenwriters have stopped at the call of their union. They are asking studios, channels and platforms for better remuneration, stronger copyrights and guarantees against the use of artificial intelligence.
Their movement could snowball. The directors’ union has also entered into negotiations to upgrade their grid. The actors’ union must soon do the same. In the event of failure of the negotiations, its members have approved the principle of a strike. Such a convergence of guilds would be historic.
The effects of the screenwriters’ mobilization were first felt on daily talk shows and entertainment programs. But the movement has since paralyzed several filming of expected series, such as Stranger Things. Anticipating, some broadcasters have made grids to return without fiction, betting on reality TV and current events. Which could precipitate the end of “peak TV”, this era of prosperity and maddening growth of soap operas.
Films are not spared either. The participants of the Film Market have commented a lot on the sine die suspension of the filming of feature films worn by Aziz Ansari and Keanu Reeves. The Island, which brings together the couple Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara, was stopped the day before the first crank stroke, unable to obtain a deposit from the insurance companies which fear that the call for a strike by the actors’ union will become a reality.
