Netflix Acquires International Rights to Two Cannes Film Festival Winners
The acquisition follows a somewhat contentious relationship with Cannes.
Netflix has acquired two winners from the 2019 Cannes Film Festival — a turn of events for the streaming giant which had previously declared it would not air any of its movies at Cannes. The company has signed international rights for the Grand Prix winner Atlantics as well as the animated film I Lost My Body, which won the Cannes Critics’ Week Award. Netflix has not announced when the films will arrive on the platform.
Atlantics is directed by French filmmaker Mati Diop and tells a love story set in Dakar. The film not only is Diop’s directorial debut, but marks the first time a black woman director has competed for Cannes’ prestigious Palme d’Or. South Korean director Bong Joon-ho, who directed Netflix’s Okja, won this year’s prize. Diop has won awards for her short films and in addition to directing has also worked as an actor.
The animated film I Lost My Body follows a dismembered hand as it tries to get back to its body. It is the feature film debut for director Jérémy Clapin, who has previously made short films and worked in advertising.
In 2018, Netflix chose to pull its works from Cannes when a new rule declared that films would be required to have distribution in theaters in France in order to be eligible for competition. The decision followed backlash from French theater owners due to Netflix’s 2017 Cannes entries, The Meyerowitz Stories and Okja. Netflix does not air its films at French theaters due to the fact that French law prevents films from arriving on streaming platforms for three years after their theatrical run.
In other news from Netflix, read about its Little Black Mirror YouTube series.
