The head of Cannes Film Festival, Thierry Fremaux, has explained why Netflix has been banned from competing for the Palme d'Or, the festival's most prestigious prize.

There was uproar among French filmmakers and unions last year when two Netflix titles, Okja and The Meyerowitz Stories, were allowed to compete despite the fact they wouldn't be shown in cinemas.

“Last year, when we selected these two films, I thought I could convince Netflix to release them in cinemas. I was presumptuous, they refused," Fremaux told The Hollywood Reporter.

"The Netflix people loved the red carpet and would like to be present with other films. But they understand that the intransigence of their own model is now the opposite of ours."

The cinema experience is sacrosanct in the eyes of Cannes, which sees Netflix, Amazon and other studios' VOD releases as "hybrids" of TV and film.