Film Festivals going online and you are invited

With the Covid-19 pandemic raging on with no sign of a cure in proximity and tight lockdowns placed throughout the world, our lives have also taken a seismic shift from students having to attend online classes to many of us working from home to conferences and workshops all being held online.

The world of entertainment is not any different with our favourite talk shows and podcasts all being held from the confines of one's house to live virtual concerts being arranged by the likes of Chris Martin, Diplo, John Legend, and Dua Lipa. Many more have followed suit as well as making social media the new hub for quarantine concerts, giving live music a more intimately emotional attachment.

With everything else being in uncertainty, many renowned film festivals such as the Tribeca and Cannes film festivals have been postponed. Some. such as the Berlin film festival has escaped the pandemic as it was held a few weeks before the gradual lockdowns. Film festivals are in general synonymous with the red carpet as the podium of the glitz and glamour accompanying the best of cinematic vigour and competence. With films submitted throughout the world, film festivals remain a wonderland for both filmmakers and cinema lovers alike. Hence, for the first time ever, due to a fruitful collaboration with YouTube, more than 20 well-known film festivals ranging from Sundance to Berlin to Cannes to Tribeca to many others have joined together to stream movies for a 10 day online curated film festival under the name, "We Are One: A Global Film Festival".

For many of us, watching films with our loved ones in the theatre with popcorn followed with the chitchats and arguments over the drive back home constitute the authentic cinematic experience. Unfortunately, social distancing limits not only personal contact but also going outside in such dreary times.

We Are One: A Global Film Festival will stream on YouTube for 10 days starting from the 29th of May to the 7th of June. The programming will be free and will display a rich and varied plethora of films, shorts, documentaries, music, comedy, and even panel discussions. With a full schedule to be given in the next following weeks, it is better to be well informed with what films must be seen and with everyone at home, it is in many ways suited to be the perfect theatrical experience for the family.

Given the film festivals are coming together to showcase their curated content online in a time of global crisis, there will also be options for viewers to make donations to the Covid-19 relief fund which YouTube and Tribeca said will benefit the World Health Organization and other organizations who are putting up the valiant effort to combat this pandemic.

The age of the stream has kept the cinema alive but not without doubts. Due to the internet traffic with literally a large chunk of people at home, there are significant concerns about the annoyance of buffering which might delay the film itself for the viewer. There are also concerns that many major new films will not be on show due to the apprehensiveness of certain festival organizers.

Despite the minor setbacks, this will be a new frontier for cinema and we should all mark the dates for what will be a long cinematic vacation saturated with stories by the best storytellers and curators. Stay safe and relish the festival experience in your laptop/TV with your loved ones by your side on a thrill ride to the most humane of all art forms-cinema.