Fresh off a successful wrap of the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, The Guardian offered its prediction for the future of cinema: don’t panic. As Mark Twain once proclaimed to a gathered audience, “Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”
In a recent essay by Martin Scorsese describing the magic of Federico Fellini’s films, the director lamented the current state of the industry in the age of streaming. “The art of cinema is being systematically devalued, sidelined, demeaned, and reduced to its lowest common denominator, ‘content’.” Spike Lee, the President of the Jury at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, stated that “Cinema and screening platforms can coexist.” Clearly, the talent in Hollywood would prefer that their best work be showcased to audiences on the big screen. Coming out of the pandemic, both cinemas and streamers have an opportunity to take flight together, with the one supporting the other to the greater good of entertainment.