According to a piece by Deadline Hollywood, The Cannes Film Festival is censoring interviews with festival head Thierry Frémaux.
The Cannes Film Festival is allegedly screening and censoring interviews with festival head Thierry Frémaux. According to Deadline Hollywood, the magazine has held off on publishing their interview with Frémaux due to the festival’s intrusion during the writing and editing of the piece.
According to the publication, the famed film festival’s demands for the piece include the likes of copy approval and pre-editing the piece.
“The festival has not only been demanding copy approval as a condition for interviews with Frémaux (something no other festival or organization has asked of us), but after pledging not to make any changes to copy, it has been removing content including potentially uncomfortable answers from Frémaux relating to diversity and controversial filmmakers.” Deadline‘s Andreas Wiseman said.
Wiseman added that while the festival had agreed to the interview without any conditions, they later came back with a ‘copy-approval requirement’ after the interview had been completed. While they initially promised to only check facts and language, the festival allegedly ‘watered-down’ sections about controversial filmmakers and diversity.
“Among sections that were later watered down by the press department was a response to a question about whether the festival would welcome back filmmaker Roman Polanski,” said Wiseman.
“Frémaux called the question “very interesting” during our chat and gave a measured, thought-provoking but also potentially problematic answer, in which he noted that the laws haven’t changed in France since Polanski won the Palme d’Or, implying that there wouldn’t be an ethical problem with the director’s attendance.” He added.
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Said question, along with another about the lack of women in the festival’s lineup were removed. Wiseman also said that the publication also made an ‘angry phone call’ claiming the section about controversial filmmakers had been ‘off-the-record’.
Cannes Film Festival has yet to comment.
For more on this topic, follow the Film & TV Observer.
