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VENICE—Organizing the Venice International Film Festival, one of many few main cultural occasions in Europe happening regardless of the coronavirus, has been a day by day take a look at of Roberto Cicutto’s nerves.
The head of the cultural establishment that phases the competition, which runs from Sept. 2-12, feared that resurgent infections may pressure the occasion’s cancellation at any time, and that journey bans may impede the attendance of stars and followers alike.
Mr. Cicutto determined in June that going forward was definitely worth the danger, even when the competition’s 77th iteration on Venice’s Lido island was smaller and fewer glitzy than traditional.
“Every day, I hope to get to the end of the day saying ‘we made it through another day,’” stated Mr. Cicutto. “If we had to judge the success of this festival from the presence of stars and glamour, [the score] would be below zero, even though we have extraordinary names like Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton and Pedro Almodóvar.”
The occasion will lose cash this 12 months, Mr. Cicutto stated, however simply holding it is going to function a signal of restoration for the battered film trade—and for the town of Venice, which is struggling by the leanest vacationer season in reminiscence.
Travel bans and recession imply Venice has had fewer guests this summer time than for many years. Dependence on tourism is one cause why Italy and different Mediterranean nations are struggling a deeper financial downturn within the wake of the pandemic than Europe as a entire.
By July, solely round 70% of Venice’s accommodations had reopened after their compelled closure throughout Italy’s lockdown. The movie competition induced one other 10% of accommodations to reopen, stated Claudio Scarpa, head of the Venice hoteliers’ affiliation.
“Unfortunately we are still far from the occupancy levels we normally see at this time of year,” he stated.
Only about 45% of obtainable beds are booked this September, a month when Venice’s accommodations are often totally booked. Venetian resort revenues to this point this 12 months are 70% under the comparable interval final 12 months.
American vacationers are significantly missed. They usually make up about one-fifth of Venice’s guests, however they spend greater than most. The absence of Russian, Chinese and Middle Eastern vacationers can also be painful, stated Mr. Scarpa.
The broader movie trade isn’t faring significantly better. In Europe, box-office income fell by two-thirds to $1.2 billion within the first half of this 12 months versus the comparable interval of 2019, in line with S&P Global Market Intelligence, as film theaters closed for months due to the pandemic. In North America, film ticket gross sales have reached $2 billion this 12 months, in contrast with $11.four billion for the entire of 2019, in line with media-measurement firm Comscore.
Since March, most of this 12 months’s film festivals have been canceled, together with the Cannes Film Festival in France. Others, such because the London Film Festival in October, will probably be largely digital, counting on digital screenings and shows. Next 12 months’s Oscars ceremony has been delayed by practically two months to April 25.
“It’s a privilege, a pleasure and a great honor to be here. It seems a miracolo,” Ms. Blanchett, who’s chairing the Venice competition’s jury this 12 months, informed reporters final week.
To keep away from an outbreak, organizers are relying on sensible precautions somewhat than a miracle. One huge change is that movie-lovers can’t see the celebs on the purple carpet of the Palazzo del Cinema, the place followers usually throng behind crush obstacles to shake arms and take selfies with their idols. Instead, seven-foot-high partitions block off the view of the purple carpet, so there isn’t a level in crowds gathering.
Movie theaters are solely allowed to be half-full. Organizers are placing on practically twice as many screenings to compensate. Tickets are solely accessible on-line, to keep away from queues. Visitors have their temperature taken at one of many eight entries to the competition areas. Face masks are obligatory all over the place.
This 12 months, 63 movies are collaborating within the competition, in contrast with 101 in 2019.
“Numbers aren’t comparable to previous years, but it’s been a great move to organize it anyway,” stated Andrea Segre, a director collaborating within the competition with “Venetian Molecules,” a documentary concerning the lagoon metropolis’s expertise below lockdown this spring.
There are fewer events too, consistent with a extra somber tone. The opening get together on the Lido seaside, usually thrown by Mr. Cicutto’s cultural establishment, La Biennale di Venezia, was changed this 12 months with a smaller-scale dinner.
The limitations didn’t dissuade Martina Scanferla, a 21-year previous scholar from the close by metropolis of Padova from coming to see the celebs.
“Oh my God,” Ms. Scanferla screamed after recognizing French actress Adèle Exarchopoulos, one her favorites, strolling by the Excelsior Hotel on the Lido. “Look, my hand is trembling,” she stated.
“It’s my fifth time and I come here to see the movies that otherwise I would never see, because they don’t screen them in most Italian towns,” stated Lorenzo Deiana, a 23-year previous engineer from Varese in northern Italy. He fortunately recalled shaking Denzel Washington’s hand 5 years in the past.
Some professionals attending the competition are much less impressed. “Compared with last year, there are fewer opportunities to meet producers to whom we can propose our services,” stated Marco Fedalto, a musician from close by Treviso, who has beforehand labored on film soundtracks.
“There are fewer than half the stars and other famous people you normally see here,” stated Teresa Bontà, a Venice-based photographer attending her third competition.
Mr. Cicutto’s aim is extra modest. “We will be proud if this experiment shows that festivals where an audience is important can happen safely,” he stated.
—R.T. Watson in Los Angeles contributed to this text.
Write to Giovanni Legorano at [email protected]
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