Venice takes lead role as first corona film festival
What if you threw a film festival and nobody came? That is the challenge facing organisers of this year’s Venice Film Festival.
What if you threw a film festival and nobody came? That is the challenge facing organisers of this year’s Venice Film Festival, the glamorous annual competition where stars, critics, photographers and industry executives mingle on the bustling Lido, overlooking sandy beaches and the blue Adriatic.
Provided, of course, it’s a normal year. In 2020, the world’s oldest film festival is forced to walk a tightrope between preserving its lustre as the premier launch pad for Academy Award-winning films, while navigating the coronavirus crisis.
Opening on Wednesday and continuing until September 12, the prestigious event now in its 77th year will be the first international film festival since the pandemic shuttered competitions around the world.
It has put in place a host of safety measures — from limited seating to thermal scanners to a fan-free red carpet — to protect attendees as COVID-19 cases continue to climb in Italy and around the world.
Travel restrictions mean most Hollywood elites will be no-shows, along with actors and directors from China, India and South America.
Those arriving from outside Europe’s Schengen zone will have to submit results of a COVID-19 test just before their departure, with a second test carried out in Venice.
The festival announced last week that American actor Matt Dillon would be a last-minute substitute on the jury for Romanian director Crisit Puiu.
No reason was given for Puiu’s absence, but industry trade magazines noted he had given a speech this month in which he said it was “inhumane” to watch movies with a mask on.
Those confirmed as attending include, among others, British actress Tilda Swinton, Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, US director Oliver Stone and Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen.
The uncertain line-up of stars leaves Australian actress Cate Blanchett, president of the jury, to take up the mantle of celebrity — and social activism — at Venice.
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