The topic of streaming loomed large over the first session of San Sebastian’s new Creative Investors’ Conference featuring a keynote by Wild Bunch co-founderDuring the lengthy and wide-ranging session, Maraval was joined by CAA Media Finance’s Roeg Sutherland who asked him the extent to which he deals withWild Bunch previously struck a lucrative deal with the streamer on a Studio Ghibli catalogue and has also reportedly sold new Johnny Depp film“I think it is our chance,” Maraval said of the...
Maraval’s comments on streamers and theatrical distribution quickly prompted Sutherland to press him for his opinion on the challenged relationship between theFilm Festival and Netflix. Maraval’s Wild Bunch has long enjoyed a large presence at the festival. This year, the company screened 12 films across the festival’s sections. Netflix films, however, haven’t played in the Cannes Official Selection since 2017.
Cannes’ approach to Netflix wasn’t the only issue Maraval identified in the international festival market. Later in the session, Maraval highlighted what he described as an equally challenging issue with the way the Venice Film Festival has embraced Netflix. Elsewhere during the session, Maraval discussed his approach to the industry and identified what he described as some of his personal failures, including passing on Darren Aronofsky’s 2010 hit“I would have been the richest guy and would have been able to invest in films forever,” he said.went on to take home over $300M at the international box office and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one.