Like everyone in our industry, GFM Films and GFM Animation are following the worldwide impact of the Corona Virus and its potential impact on Cannes. Whilst the announcement last week from the Marche du Film sent a message of ‘business as usual’ we feel that all indications are that the impact of the virus will grow significantly in the coming weeks.
TV markets are already grasping the problem and we believe the film industry will soon follow suit. We are also aware that his pandemic may well be impacting our distribution partners’ activities over coming months.
At this stage, therefore, we have decided not to attend Cannes. We are a small team but a typical Cannes market will embrace 200+ meetings and we believe it would be wise to plan now for alternative ways of keeping partners updated on our slate. In this regard, we will forward our usual pre-market updates earlier than normal and will look to set up individual Skype or Zoom calls so that we can catch up & have face-to-face contact, albeit without the benefits of the Croisette backcloth.
We will of course keep options open to still attend Cannes – either individually or as a team – if conditions justify, and look to make individual visits to territories where possible.