Netflix pulls out of Cannes Film Festival following competition ban

Netflix has decided to exit France’s Cannes Film Festival entirely over festival leadership’s decision to ban films from competing unless they secure a local theatrical release, according to a report from Variety. The report includes an interview with Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer, who says the decision was made only after escalating tensions between the streaming service and Cannes artistic director Thierry Frémaux. Netflix, though it was banned from competition, was told it could still screen its films at Cannes if it liked. The company is now no longer attending in any official capacity.

“We want our films to be on fair ground with every other filmmaker,” Sarandos tells Variety. “There’s a risk in us going in this way...

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