Cannes Day 7: An Exhausting First Week of Films Comes to a Close

thewrap.com:

Cannes Film Festival came to a close on Sunday, and it’s been a time of exhilarating highs coupled with very quiet low days.

Where Martin Scorsese and Todd Haynes can have their latest films debut back-to-back and a Sunday that feels incredibly silent by comparison.

As TheWrap’s Steve Pond said in his look at the festival so far, this simultaneous mix of high-brow film and those with mass appeal is understandable: “At film festivals like this one, and in times like these, a little cultural schizophrenia can be a glorious thing.”That said, it’s understandable that Monday’s roundup of the festival is a hodgepodge of things, the calm before the final week that no doubt will see acquisitions come fast and furious, as well as some massive film debuts.Despite being an American writers’ strike, attendees at Cannes have felt its influence since day one, when French film groups ARP and directors guild SRF published a letter, signed by 500 members of the French film industry, critiquing practices like censoring films for television as copyright infringement and threats to auteur filmmakers.

ARP, the guild for writers, directors and producers, as well as SRF, the directors guild behind Cannes’ Directors Fortnight, want the final version of edited features, as well as opening and closing re-edits, to be signed off by the film’s director and writers, as well as have their names listed on all promotional material.Now, in a write-up by Screen Daily, questions swirl about whether American production companies might start seeking European involvement in projects.