, is also keen to support this year’s festival, with hopes that Venice could be a much needed pick-up for the industry, as well as Italy.It’s too soon to understand what will happen with the U.S. studios and Venice, mainly since Hollywood is historically reluctant to send a movie to the Lido sans talent in tow. But that’s much less of an issue with U.S. indie product.
“The world is split into two groups,” adds Maccanico, “those who are sticking their head under the sand and waiting for the storm to be over, and those who have understood that we have to help each other and we have to try new things.” He thinks that in terms of titles, Barbera will have plenty of great movies to chose from.
Giorgio Gosetti, chief of the Lido’s independently-run Venice Days section, modeled on the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, says that as far as directors, talent, producers, executives and journalists are concerned, “We can expect between 30-40% of the usual turnout.” In terms of selection criteria, Gosetti feels an obligation to make a selection that’s “aware of what’s happened to us…not just made in a vacuum.” This means, among other things, that he’ll likely consider taking works-in-progress, unfinished due to the pandemic.
Barbera in a letter sent early May to the international film community asked industry execs for theirto partly replace or give more visibility to live events, such as press screenings and conferences, meetings and panels.