Legendary auteur Jean-Luc Godard has said “fuck you” to Cannes and to the film industry in one fell swoop. He purposely missed the Cannes premiere of his ‘Film Socialisme.’ In an interview on May 13, he said that he wasn’t “in cinema” but “in the fabrication of films” and that the current market and lack of audience will prevent him from going on.

And so, the idol of the cinephiles retires, but not before declaring the film industry dead.

He informed the festival of his planned absence in style, via cryptic fax:

Avec le festival, j’irai jusqu’à la mort, mais je ne ferai pas un pas de plus.
Translation: I would go to my death with the festival, but I would not take one step further.

This seemingly insinuates both his loyalty to the fest and its imminent death. Read this translated interview to find out why cinema is dead, why his problems are Greek, how Palestine is like the cinema and what the director’s (likely last) film is all about.

‘Film Socialisme’ was screened without Godard, ending with the title card: “No Comment.” Instead of playing the distribution game, Godard is releasing his film on-line.