Cannes Film Festival 2021, earlier scheduled for May, to now take place in July

The Cannes Film Festival, cancelled altogether last year by the pandemic, is postponing this year’s edition from May to July in hopes of having an in-person festival.

Cannes organisers announced on Wednesday that this year’s festival will now take place from 6-17 July, about two months after its typical period. The French Riviera festival, which had run for nearly 75 years with few interruptions, is currently hoping the coronavirus recedes enough by summertime.

Check out the announcement here

Cannes last year first looked at a postponement its 73rd festival to June or July before ultimately cancelling altogether. The festival still went ahead with a selection announcement to celebrate the films it had planned to include in its prestigious lineup.

This year, organisers are intent on having a festival, one way or another. No details were announced on what shape a 2021 edition might take.

If Cannes were to go forward with attendees in theatres in July, it would be the first major film festival to do so since the Venice Film Festival mounted a festival in September, with masked moviegoers and social distancing on red carpets. On Thursday, the premier independent film festival, Sundance, launches with virtual screenings and drive-in events scattered around the US. The Berlin Film Festival, scheduled for March in Germany, is planning a virtual event.

During the pandemic, Cannes’ central hub, the Palais des Festivals, has been used for hospital beds and, more recently, as a vaccination centre.

(With inputs from The Associated Press)