Socially Distant

First things first: an online film festival is weird, but it’s not the worst thing in the world. Naturally, one misses the enveloping concentration of the big screen and the dark room, no matter how much we may try to approximate that environment in our sequestration. And, of course, the social element—catching up with old friends and hashing out what we’ve just seen, together—is completely missing. Nevertheless, Switzerland’s Visions du Réel did its best to bring not only as many of their selected films online as possible, but all the usual accoutrements of a fully functioning international festival, including development seminars for filmmakers, a global market (including the pitching of new projects), and master classes conducted by Peter Mettler, Petra Costa, and Claire Denis. (In July, as a bonus for those in situ festivalgoers willing to remain the requisite six feet apart, the festival will also open an art exhibition by Godard, based on material from Le livre d’image.)

It was an experiment, one that a number of other major festivals (most notably Cannes) have been explicitly unwilling to try. Although piracy is the most obvious concern—there is no amount of online security for streaming films that determined hackers will not eventually find a way to sidestep—there is also no doubt fear of setting a precedent. While a situation like the Universal Studios/AMC Theaters standoff (regarding, of all things, ) may prove a bellwether for wide releases aimed at audiences who’d just as soon stay at