Cannes Festival hit with power outage, but closing ceremony to still go ahead
Cannes Festival has been hit by a power outage impacting much of the south of France.
”Restoration efforts are underway,” the festival stated to Screen Daily. ”The Palais des Festivals has switched to an independent power supply, allowing all scheduled events and screenings, including the Closing Ceremony, to proceed as planned and under normal conditions.”
The festival also revealed that screenings at the Cineum have had to be suspended, which will “resume as soon as power is restored.” Several screenings stopped mid-way when the outage hit at 10am CET. However, festival attendees have since reported that the escalators and Wi-Fi are still working on the premises.
Authorities have confirmed that the blackout in large parts of the French Riviera is not a technical failure, but is suspected sabotage. They say it is at the hands of “malicious acts.”
The film festival’s closing and awards ceremony are scheduled to start in mere hours. The Competition jury, headed by Juliette Binoche, will distribute awards including the Palme d’Or, Grand Prix and Jury Prize.
According to a spokesperson from the Alpes-Maritimes prefecture, the blackout affects the entire western part of the department, which borders Italy. Authorities have deemed it “significant”. This comes not a month after Spain and Portugal suffered a day-long power outage.
Far Out attended the Cannes Film Festival this year. Emily Ruuskanen said of the annual event: “The glitz, glamour and red-carpet photos are only a small part of the festival and a glossy exterior for something much larger than chiffon dresses and palm trees. Beneath the exhausting veneer of show business, with actors and filmmakers bracing themselves under the glare of the spotlight and the side effects of fame, what matters most is the celebration of cinema and contagious excitement as a crowd of people buzz around a dark screen that will soon be lit up with a story.”
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