The inevitable has finally happened: Cannes Film Festival has been postponed.
The was announced on Thursday that the festival is postponing its 2020 edition scheduled to be held from May 12-23, marking one of the biggest business and entertainment event casualties of the coronavirus. Organizers said they are now eyeing dates in late June to early July instead of their traditional mid-May slot.
Here’s the statement from the festival according to entertainment portal Deadline:
“At this time of global health crisis, our thoughts go to the victims of the COVID-19 and we express our solidarity with all of those who are fighting the disease. Today, we have made the following decision: The Festival de Cannes cannot be held on the scheduled dates, from May 12 to 23. Several options are considered in order to preserve its running, the main one being a simple postponement, in Cannes, until the end of June-beginning of July, 2020.”
Due to the health crisis and the development of the French and international situation, the Festival de Cannes will no longer be able to take place on the dates planned, from May 12 to 23. More info #Cannes2020 👉 https://t.co/peLmfw0gQW pic.twitter.com/SVWPasvU23
— Festival de Cannes (@Festival_Cannes) March 19, 2020
Until now, Cannes has tried to maintain a business-as-usual approach and was considering movies for selection. But in recent weeks public events in France have cancelled and the shifting of the world’s biggest film festival felt inevitable as the gravity of the pandemic becomes starker by the day. France is currently in lockdown and has recorded thousands of cases of the coronavirus.
Read: Coronavirus update: Idris Elba tests positive & Met Gala gets postponed indefinitely
In other news:
Indira Varma from Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones star Indira Varma has revealed that she has tested positive for coronavirus. Her diagnosis comes two days after fellow Game of Thrones actor Kristofer Hivju also said that he tested positive for the COVID-19 infection.
Varma, who played the role of Ellaria Sand in the epic HBO series, took to Instagram on Wednesday to share the news. “I’m in bed with it and it’s not nice. Stay safe and healthy and be kind to your fellow people,” she wrote.
Itziar Ituño from Money Heist
Itziar Ituño, one of the key cast members of Money Heist, announced she tested positive for coronavirus in an Instagram post. The Spanish actress plays Inspector Raquel Murillo on the popular Netflix show.
“I’ve had the symptoms since Friday afternoon. and today we got the test results which came back positive,” Ituño wrote in the caption, which was initially written in Spanish, Basque, and Portuguese.
The 45-year-old actress assured her fans that her case is mild, but emphasized that the same can’t be said for everyone else’s. “Do not take it lightly, there are lives at stake and we still do not know how far this will go,†she wrote.
