Do we need them? What are they for? And how long before they join the outcasts of history, along with dinosaurs, spinning wheels and analogue TV?

The world has never been so divided on the matter of film festivals. Some argue they are an obsolete tradition in an age of computers and downloading. Why have special fortnights in Cannes, Venice or London when film nuts can get together at any time of their choice, to watch any new films (assuming makers’ consent), out there in cyberspace?