winning the top prize at Cannes in 2019 set it on a path to win the best picture Oscar nine months later.
Last year, however, due to the pandemic, festivals weren’t able to go ahead. Instead, 21 festivals, including Cannes, Venice and Berlin, came together to put on. Streaming for free, in return for an optional donation to the World Health Organization’s Covid-19 fund, it was not quite the same. Awards weren’t given, and few filmmakers, understandably, chose to debut at it. Thankfully, this year festivals seem to be back on for now.
Festivals matter because they help filmmakers to network, get funding and further their career. Films awarded at prestigious festivals have a better chance to get Academy nominations and awards. Cumulatively, festival awards and Oscars practically guarantee a worldwide financial and critical success.
Even during Covid, when global cinema suffered due to a drop in film production, a crisis of theatre distribution and cancellation or changing format of many festivals, the 93rd Academy Awards, to take place on 25 April, will still carry their usual prestige.