Venice Film Festival offers sign of hope for cinema

VENICE — The decision to hold the Venice Film Festival despite the coronavirus pandemic is being hailed as a “sign of hope” for the movie world after months of closed cinemas, shuttered film sets and canceled galas.

The rapid global spread of the virus forced major production companies to halt filming, and top silver-screen festivals to postpone or cancel their 2020 editions — including Venice’s historic rival Cannes, usually held in May.

Despite Italy being among the worst-hit countries, with over 33,000 deaths, Alberto Barbera, the director of the Venice Film Festival, is defiant in the face of the disease, insisting the 77th edition of the “Mostra” will go ahead from Sept 2 to 12.

Italy has been slowly exiting its lockdown and organizers in the canal city are betting on a return to normality in the hard-hit north of the country by the end of the summer.

The first post-coronavirus festival will nonetheless have to adopt new sanitary and social distancing rules.

“It will be a unique edition. We still don’t know exactly what we’ll be able to do, but in the meantime are selecting the films and drawing up a plan to allow everyone to participate safely,” Barbera said on Instagram this week.

Giorgio Gosetti, head of the renowned parallel Venice Days competition for innovative or original filmmaking, said it was “as if we were starting over again from 1932, when the festival was founded”.

“Everyone in the world of cinema ... feels that right now the best place to celebrate, to show vitality, is the oldest festival in the world,” he said.

Barbera has repeatedly ruled out the suggestion the prestigious event could be held online, leaving film experts to suggest the number of films shown — generally over 200 — will be noticeably reduced.

Familiar scenes of throngs of paparazzi snapping photographs of A-listers on the red carpet and signing autographs for screaming crowds of fans are also unlikely.

Festival expert Angela Prudenzi said that this year, “all eyes will be on the films, which is a very good thing”.

What remains unclear is how the canceled Cannes festival could work with Venice’s festival — or step on its toes.

Thierry Fremaux, the Cannes festival’s director, has said he and Barbera have discussed the possibility of some type of collaboration, without providing details.