Orson Welles' daughter is pleading for Cannes and Netflix to come to a mutual agreement to show "The Other Side of the Wind" at the major film festival.
Beatrice Welles sent the email to Netflix executive Ted Sarandos (via Variety) saying: “I was very upset and troubled to read in the trade papers about the conflict with the Cannes Film Festival. I have to speak out for my father.”
“I saw how the big production companies destroyed his life, his work, and in so doing a little bit of the man I loved so much,” Beatrice continued. “I would so hate to see Netflix be yet another one of these companies.”
“Please reconsider and let my father’s work be the movie that bridges the gap between Netflix and Cannes.”
The film, an abandoned project that was shot in the 1970s, was finally completed by Welles' protege, director, Peter Bogdanovich this year. Netflix jumped on-board at the opportunity to restore this "lost" film when every iother studio balked.
Beatrice also sent an email to Cannes director Thierry Fremaux, who replied by saying ‘Wind’ is“an extraordinary film. Much more than a historical film. A message from Orson Welles to the world of cinema today.”
If Netflix could make an exception it would be for this film, which doesn't need to be in competition and could just play in the Cannes Classics sidebar.