Venice Film Festival 2020
Venice Film Festival 2020 was uncertain for quite some time. It wasn’t until July that the restrictions of the Italian borders were lifted and even today, most countries’ citizens are not allowed to enter the national territory. Fortunately, we live in a Cyber-age, and images, both still and videos, move just as effortless over boundaries as storm clouds.
The general situation, and especially the last week’s increase in Covid.cases in Italy and in other European countries, has forced the organizers to come up with new ideas to contain the disease and protect the public and the participants, actors, and directors, etc.
It will be a festival like one we haven’t seen before.
The number of participants has been moderated somewhat and there will be a few other changes to minimize any risk connected to the current pandemic:
- The dates are September 2 – 12.
- Venice Classics was included in the Il Cinema Ritrovato-festival in Bologna, at the end of August.
- Venice 77 (The official competition), Orizzonti (Horizons), and Out of competition are confirmed and will be shown at the traditional Palace of Cinema at Lido.
- Venice Virtual Reality / Venice VR Expanded will be entirely online (… right so). Here’s a link for free access.
- The total number of films is around 60.
- Sconfini will not take place.
- Documentaries on cinema will not take place
This is how many films there will be.
Check out the titles here.
- In the main competition 18 (2019 there were 21)
- Out of competition 23 (2019 there were 24)
- Orizzonti (Horizons) 19 (2019 there were 19)
- Short films 12 (2019 there were 13)
So, the difference isn’t all that big. I think the main contrast to an ordinary year, will be the number of people… Both the film stars and the public. It will be a calm and tranquil event, compared to what’s normal.
Cate Blanchett
The Australian superstar will spread some starlight onto the festival, as the President of the Jury. Looking at the participant films, I don’t think last year’s heated debates about directors would arise. And Polanski is back in Paris, where he will have to contemplate over the sentence by a Judge to not restore his membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Polanski sued in April 2019, asking the court to compel the Academy to make him a member in good standing again.
Though, some things are already moving. What is a great Festival without a mandatory scandal?
Le Sorelle Macaluso (The Macaluso sisters), a film by the Italian director Emma Dante, is scrutinized. It is claimed that a supposedly explicit screenshot, showing a young girl in underwear in a room full of pigeons, is the official poster for the Venice Film Festival 2020. The official poster of the festival is this one, though. They are always paintings, never photos.
Together with Mrs. Blanchett in the Jury, there will be the American actor Matt Dillon, as well as Veronika Franz, Joanna Hogg, Nicola Lagioia, Christian Petzold, and Ludivine Sagnier
More options to visit the festival online.
Festival Scope will show 15 of the films in the sections Horizons, Out of Competition, and Biennale College Cinema free of charge. Not the main competition, but it’s a great way to get acquainted with some of the participants from home. You just create an account and you will be able to see the films. Here’s the link.
The films
The organizers have tried very hard to assure the quality of the festival. Although the times are what they are, and the overwhelming crisis has made it difficult to manage such a big event, the Venice film festival 2020 is definitely a valid manifestation. Some countries are more penalized by the pandemic.
Obviously, the USA has fewer films on the list. And as the United States still is the major film producer in the world, that means a significant draw-back. But looking at the titles, I’d say that the festival board with the president, Alberto Barbera, has managed to compensate very well.
And many countries have had entries canceled or postponed. In short, the festival has a slightly more European weight. There are still many interesting names in the Venice film festival of 2020.
Majid Majidi (India), Nicole Garzia (France), Gianfranco Rosi (Italy-USA) Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Japan), (Nope, no relative to Akira). These excellent artists, as well as others certainly will not let us down.
And some Americans are contributing even if we’ll have to wait and see if they will come over in person.
Security at the Venice film festival 2020.
There are quite a lot of special rules. To avoid any transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus the Venice film festival 2020 will be very different from previous years. And anybody who would like to attend will have to be prepared. Here’s a list of everything you should know before buying a ticket:
- The Red Carpet. There will be no possibility for the public to witness the access of delegations to the Main Hal at the Film Place at Lido. For photographers and other authorized personnel, there will be a strict protocol for distancing.
- Access. The area of the Venice film festival 2020-area will be accessed through 9 road/lagoon gates. These gates will be equipped with a system for measuring body temperature. In case of temperature over 37,5° celsius (98,6°F), access will be denied.
- Tickets. All tickets will have to be booked in advance online. No tickets will be sold through ticket offices. Here’s the link.
- Printed materials. Most of the information concerning the festival will be given to the public in electronic format, reducing the distribution of printed materials.
- Every second seat will be empty during screening.
- In all public areas, hand sanitizers are available.
- Mask wearing is mandatory inside and outside.
- Testings. Guests and accredited guests from non-Schengen countries are requested to test for Covid-19 in accordance with the regulations for entering Italy. The test is to be carried out before departure. A second swab will be carried out in Venice by the Biennale, again only for those for whom testing is required.
- Tracking of all participants. All participants – accredited, holders of passes, tickets, and season tickets – will be tracked while accessing the rooms or other functional areas within the buildings.
The films at the Venice film festival 2020
Venezia77, the main section
- Amants, by Nicole Garcia (France)
- The Disciple, by Chaitanya Tamhane (India)
- Dorogie tovarišči, by Andrej Končalovskij (Russia)
- Khōrshīd, by Majid Majidi (Iran)
- Laila in Haifa, by Amos Gitai (Israel, France)
- Miss Marx, by Susanna Nicchiarelli (Italy, Belgium)
- Nomadland, by Chloé Zhao (USA)
- Notturno, by Gianfranco Rosi (Italy, France, and Germany)
- Nuevo orden, by Michel Franco (Mexico, France)
- Padrenostro, by Claudio Noce (Italy)
- Pieces of a Woman, by Kornél Mundruczó (Canada, Hungary)
- Quo Vadis, Aida?, by Jasmila Žbanić (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Romania, Austria, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, France)
- Səpələnmiş ölümlər arasında, by Hilal Baydarov (Azerbaijan, Mexico, USA)
- Śniegu już nigdy nie będzie, by Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert (Polonia, Germania)
- Le sorelle Macaluso, by Emma Dante (Italia)
- Supai no tsuma, by Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Giappone)
- Und morgen die ganze Welt, by Julia von Heinz (Germania, Francia)
- The World To Come, by Mona Fastvold (Stati Uniti d’America)
Venice Film Festival 2020 – Out of competition
Fiction
- Assandira, by Salvatore Mereu (Italy)
- The Duke, by Roger Michell (UK)
- Dì yī lú xiāng, by Ann Hui (China)
- The Human Voice, by Pedro Almodóvar (Spain)
- Lacci, by Daniele Luchetti (Italy)
- Lasciami andare, by Stefano Mordini (Italy)
- Nag-won-ui bam, by Park Hoong-jung (South Korea)
- Mandibules, by Quentin Dupieux (France, Belgium)
- Mosquito State, by Filip Jan Rymsza (Poland)
- One Night in Miami, by Regina King (USA)
- Run Hide Fight, by Kyle Rankin (USA)
Non-Fiction
- City Hall, by Frederick Wiseman (USA)
- Crazy, Not Insane, by Alex Gibney (USA)
- Final Account, by Luke Holland (UK)
- Fiori, fiori, fiori!, by Luca Guadagnino (Italy)
- Greta, by Nathan Grossman (Sweden)
- Hopper/Welles,by Orson Welles (USA)
- Molecole, by Andrea Segre (Italy)
- Narciso em férias, by Renato Terra and Ricardo Calil (Brazil)
- Paolo Conte, via con me, by Giorgio Verdelli (Italy)
- Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams, by Luca Guadagnino (Italy)
- Sportin’ Life, by Abel Ferrara (Italy)
- La verità su “La dolce vita”, by Giuseppe Pedersoli (Italy)
Venice Film Festival 2020 – Orizzonti / Horizons
- Bùzhǐ bùxiū, by Wang Jing (China)
- Dashte khamoush, by Ahmad Bahrami (Iran)
- The Furnace,by Roderick MacKay (Australia)
- Gaza mon amour, by Tarzan e Arab Nasser (Palestina, France, Germany, Qatar)
- Guerra e pace, by Massimo D’Anolfi and Martina Parenti (Italy, Switzerland)
- Jenayat-e bi deghat, by Shahram Mokri (Iran)
- Lahi, hayop, by Lav Diaz (The Philippines)
- Listen, by Ana Rocha de Sousa (UK, Portugal)
- Mainstream, by Gia Coppola USA)
- The Man Who Sold His Skin, by Kaouther Ben Hania (Tunisia, France, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland)
- Mīla, by Christos Nikou (Greece, Poland, Slovenia)
- Meel patthar, by Ivan Ayr (India)
- Nowhere Special, by Uberto Pasolini (Italy, Romania, UK))
- La nuit des rois, by Philippe Lacôte (Ivory coast, France, Canada)
- I predatori,by Pietro Castellitto (Italy)
- Sary mysyq, by Ádilhan Erjanov (Kazakstan, France)
- Selva trágica, by Yulene Olaizola (Mexico, France, Colombia)
- La troisième guerre, by Giovanni Aloi (France)
- Zanka Contact,by Ismaël El Iraki (France, Marocco, Belgium)