TikTok will provide exclusive red carpet and backstage access as well as running a competition for users, all to attract a new generation to Cannes.
ADVERTISEMENTIn a clash of new and old, TikTok is to be an official partner of Cannes 2022.
The partnership will bring together the app, which sees users create ultra-short video content and engage in short-term viral trends, with the international temple of feature films.
"TikTok will offer this major cultural event, the works presented and all its talents, wide visibility among more than a billion users around the world", TikTok said in a statement.
The app, which is a subsidiary of Chinese group ByteDance, is promising exclusive backstage coverage and has launched a competition for users, with winners to be awarded their prizes during the festival.
Reaching a younger audience
For their part, Cannes is hoping the deal will help them to go beyond their cult of cinephiles and reach TikTok’s youthful, gen Z audience who may not have a strong relationship with cinema. Especially after the pandemic.
"[The partnership] will allow us to share the magic of the festival with a wider and global audience", says Thierry Frémaux, general delegate at Cannes.
Tiktok will join an illustrious list of partners which includes traditional big names such as the jeweller Chopard, BMW cars or the luxury giant Kering.
Cannes attracted headlines earlier this year when it banned Russian delegates from attending; a move which is characteristic of the cultural sector turning its back on the country over the war in Ukraine.
The event is the biggest film festival in the world and the highlight of the cinema calendar for many.
Last year ‘Titane’ won the top prize under a jury presided over by Spike Lee. The win made director Julia Ducournau only the second female director to get the Palme d’Or after Jane Campion won in 1993 for ‘The Piano’.
