«It seems to be marched out to three years ago», before Covid emergency. In the words of La Biennale Presidente Roberto Cicutto, there’s the synthesis of the first half of Venezia 78 that has an extremely positive result both in attendance (very high) and Covid cases (not even one). «Accreditation has increased by 60% compared to the previous edition – Cicutto explained – and there was an “attack on the stagecoach”. 23.713 tickets sold until September 5 (it was 13.162 in 2020 and 28.741 at the end of 2019), 676 season tickets (281 in 2020), 9.800 accreditation (6.908 in 2020, 12.800 at the end of 2019 festival) and many more international journalists». Great success for the Green Pass: just 10% of the accredited attendance is not vaccinated and makes rapid tests every 48 hours. Not one of the six positive tests has been confirmed by the molecular test. Cicutto is committed to achieving carbon neutrality for next year festival and he’s also planning how to expand the volume of attendance with the refurbishment of Sala Perla 2 and the hypothesis of a new temporary structure similar to Sala Giardino. Cicutto does not deny some delays experienced with the ticketing system provided by Boxol, while Director Alberto Barbera underlines that «we can’t go back, we can only go forward and improve». Barbera claims that this year festival is a flywheel for the restart of the movie industry: «A festival can be an incentive for the audience. It is our commitment. The quality of the movies is much higher than usual. We notice an increase in the quality of the content coming from streaming platforms, certainly even because of the lockdown, not only in terms of distribution but also for their original production. And this is a fresh boost as well». Barbera explained that Italian movies at the festival «are more or less the same amount of the previous years, the only difference is that there are five in competition instead of the usual three of four. Italian cinema is living a state of grace and this year’s festival is a showcase of this situation». Barbera also said that «it’s positive that Venice welcomes Hollywood blockbusters because this means more attention also for less mainstream productions». Many Oscar winners started their run in Venice, such as La la land, The Shape of Water and Joker. Barbera made clear that «I never considered an Oscar driven selection, even if I’m of course very happy about what happened until now because helped us to build a splendid relationship with US film industry and be attractive for those productions that appreciate this showcase». Barbera’s only real displeasure is the limited allowance in the theatres: «During a short period right before the end of July I hoped for full allowance as happened in France and I barely understand why it didn’t happen. I would like to understand why it is possible to avoid social distance on trains and planes and not in theatres». By the way, Barbera and Cicutto grant that Venice Film Festival will not give up its double soul, one committed to film critics and industry and another one committed to the audience. «It’s part of its DNA». Future agenda does not consider the opening of competition for high quality series. «It’s neither here nor there».
Mostra with pre-Covid numbers
