05/13/2026
A letter from George at Cannes: Each May, 30,000 people travel to Cannes, France to watch films. This year, I’m one of them. It’s especially important for movie programmers like myself to attend festivals. It offers the opportunity to connect with and retain healthy relationships with independent production and distribution houses. We meet with people from every aspect of the industry, from those that you see on the screen to -most importantly- those that are responsible for getting a film made and into theatres.
Cinema owners also play a strategic role at a film festival, we bring the foundation of Theatrical Exhibition into focus. We must work to remind everyone in this industry that cinema has no life if not for theatres. (BUT George! What about our phones? Our laptops? Our homes? I can see a movie anywhere! Ah, yes, a movie you can experience anywhere. But cinema? No, you experience cinema at the Cinema).
Notable at this year’s Cannes are the lack of any major studios. Universal, Paramount, Disney, Sony… they’re absent. This absence stands in stark relief to the state of the cinema industry back home, where major studios have a stranglehold on our everyday viewing choices.
In the coming week, I’ll be reporting back on the films I’m screening, the wonderful people I’m connecting with, and with any luck, what I’m bringing back home for you.
See you at the movies!
With love,
George
