The Monte-Carlo Television Festival is one of the latest events to cancel this year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The 60th edition of the festival, originally scheduled for 19-23 June, has now been rescheduled for 18-22 June 2021 at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. “We have been confronted with an unprecedented situation which is unfortunately currently depriving us all of our freedom for an indefinite period of time,” CEO of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival, Laurent Puons said. “It is with great regret that I am obliged to cancel the 2020 edition of our Television Festival in June. We must all take up our responsibilities to protect what is most precious: our health, that of our loved ones and of our festival-goers. The safety of the talent and public attending the event is paramount. I would like to thank all the sponsors, studios, networks, streaming platforms, festival-goers, and journalists who had renewed their commitment to this year’s festival. I’ll be delighted to welcome them to Monaco next June.”
Similar festivals have also had to cancel or postpone amid the crisis, including French TV festival SeriesMania and Cannes' television market MIPTV, which shifted to online-only versions and the South By Southwest (SXSW) and Tribeca Film Festivals, which were canceled. The 2020 Cannes Film Festival has been postponed. Films and festivals scheduled to be premiered are now struggling to adjust their new release and marketing plans. San Sebastian and Zurich Film Festivals, along with production and sales groups CAA Media Finance, FilmNation and Wild Bunch, revealed a new film market that will run in September and will feature selected titles from the canceled SXSW and Tribeca festivals.
This year's edition was set to open with the world premiere of the Studiocanal-produced thriller “Shadowplay.” Arquette was among the Golden Nymph winners in 2019 for her performance in “Escape At Dannemora,” as well as Richard Madden, who took home the best actor in a drama for his work in “Bodyguard.”