The current Corona-crisis has severely impacted film festivals around the world, with some completely cancelled, while others figure out whether they can delay and then still run some version as they observe required regulations about physical distancing and sanitation. It seems natural, then, that a lot of content would migrate online and now YouTube is hosting We Are One, a global film festival on its video platform.
This 10-day event will be streamed free (with viewers asked to make a voluntary contribution to COVID-19 relief) and is set to feature selected content from the likes of Cannes, Sundance, Toronto, Tribeca and Venice and more. The various festivals will curate their offerings and there will be films and other programming from around 20 festivals.
It's not intended to replace the physical festivals that are still aiming to run later in the year, but it offers film fans a great opportunity to see movies that they'd either have to pay and travel to see or wait until they finally hit cinemas following their fest premieres. "We Are One: A Global Film Festival unites curators, artists and storytellers to entertain and provide relief to audiences worldwide," says Jane Rosenthal, head of the Tribeca Film Festival, one of the main drivers of the online festival. "In working with our extraordinary festival partners and YouTube we hope that everyone gets a taste of what makes each festival so unique and appreciates the art and power of film." The films will stream between 29 May and 7 June.
One festival that won't be represented? SXSW, which has already struck its own deal with Amazon to stream 39 films, shorts and series originally set for the 2020 festival in Austin last month. It's also free and starts this week.