Cannes Film Fest press conference put off till June 3 due to large number of films

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The star-studded press conference for the 74th edition of the Cannes Film Festival has been postponed by one week till June 3, this year. Variety has learned that the reason for the delay is the abundance of movies that have been submitted to the festival and officials are expecting that the competition is going to be larger than usual, this year.

The much-awaited festival originally takes place in the month of May every year but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Cannes Film Festival has been pushed forward from its usual dates in May to July 6-17. The ceremony is set to open with the new drama from French director Leos Carax- 'Annette', on July 6.

Announcing the premiere, Cannes Festival Director Thierry Fremaux said, "We couldn't have dreamed of a more beautiful reunion with cinema and the silver screen, in the Palais des festivals where films come to assert their splendour". On a related note, 'Annette' and Paul Verhoeven's subversive period thriller 'Benedetta' are confirmed to compete in the film festival as per reports from Variety.

Some of the movies that have been considered for this year's edition include Sean Penn's drama 'Flag Day' starring the actor-director alongside his daughter Dylan Penn, his son Hopper Penn, Josh Brolin and Miles Teller. Other Cannes speculations reported by Variety also include Jane Campion's helmed crime/thriller drama 'The Power of The Dog' which is handled by Netflix.

According to Variety, the roster of international filmmakers expected for Cannes's comeback include Jacques Audiard with 'Paris, 13th District'; Asghar Farhadi with his Farsi-language drama 'A Hero'; Nanni Moretti with 'Three Floors'; Julia Ducournau with the horror drama 'Titane'; Emmanuelle Bercot with 'De Son Vivant'; Mia Hansen-Love with 'Bergman Island', and Kirill Serebrennikov with 'Petrov's Flu'. Last year's event, which was cancelled, was replaced by a low-key event in October showcasing short films but without the A-list movie stars, directors and producers.

American film director Spike Lee, who was named jury president for Cannes in January 2020 but was never able to serve due to the event's cancellation, is expected to lead the 2021 jury. France is on the verge of saying goodbye to the coronavirus as Variety reported that the health situation is improving in the country. The nation has recently come out of its third lockdown and is set to reopen its movie theatres and all cultural venues on May 19 after a near seven-month shutdown.

French health authorities reported a decrease in the number of hospitalizations, as well as a weekly rise of less than 2 per cent of new COVID-19 cases as of Thursday for the first time in almost a year. The death toll has also slid down to 200, the lowest since Oct 26, 2020.

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