Venice Film Festival 2020, from September 2 to 12, opens even amidst the dangers of coronavirus pandemic and becomes the first one to do so. It’s a festival like no other in terms of its reputation for launching Oscar winners, Euronews reports. Birdman, Black Swan, Joker, The Shape of Water, Gravity, La La Land – the stars of these films launched their quest for the Academy Awards by shimmering on the red carpet at Venice in the late summer heat.
This year though, Venice is a festival like no other simply. We state in terms of choosing to go ahead as a physical event. This comes after a summer where some of its main rivals, top-tier festivals such as Cannes and Telluride, announced their cancellation. But there’ll be no screaming fans allowed near the red carpet, Euronews further reports, no queues for the best film tickets. Also, the booking is online-only, while temperature checks and masks will be enforced in half-full theatres.
This time, 18 films strive to grab the top prize and help movie buffs forget the pandemic for a while. At Wednesday’s opening film, Lacci by Italian director Daniele Luchetti, the theatre was just half full of journalists. Their temperatures were taken before being allowed inside. (Source: NDTV)
The Precautions
Many are expected to be soon strutting down Venice’s unique coronavirus-era catwalk. This is shielded by an outer barrier. The attendees include helmers Michel Franco from Mexico, Ann Hui from China, Majid Majidi from Iran as well as Chaitanya Tamhane from India. They will be travelling with certification that they tested with a Covid-19 swab shortly before departure. They will also do another swab upon arrival at Venice’s Marco Polo airport, courtesy of the Italian government. Then they will possibly do the third test if staying longer than five days. (Source: Variety)
Besides swabs for those arriving from areas particularly struck by infection, there are plenty of other security measures in place. These include thermoscanners at festival entrance points. They also have pre-booked social-distanced seating in screening venues and at press conferences. Here everyone must wear a mask at all times. There are sanitary gel dispensers pretty much everywhere. And the shielded catwalk will help avert the risk of frenzied fan gatherings. These Barbara says pose “the biggest risk” of a potential virus spread.
