The Venice Film Festival will go ahead as planned this fall, that’s what the region’s governor, Luca Zaia, stated this past weekend [via Variety] The film festival is set to take place Sept. 2-12.
Zaia also mentioned that there would be fewer entries at this year’s fest due to the COVID-19 pandemic continuing on. Evidently, organizers — who were expected to take a decision in late May — seem to be confident enough that by September the fest will be able to go ahead as planned. As previously reported, this 77th edition of the festival will be a much smaller affair with sanitation guidelines such as mask-wearing, hand-washing, and social distancing set to be implemented.
The optimist in me hopes this could be a successful endeavor. Is it a stretch that this prestigious cinematic event could potentially happen in the midst of a pandemic? Italy will reopen its borders for European travellers on June 3, forgoing mandatory quarantine restrictions for inbound travel. What could possibly go wrong? You tell me.
“Hope,” Na’s first film in ten years — his last one being the exemplary “The Wailing” —is a gloriously messy, blood-soaked sci-fi epic that may become a cult classic despite—or because of—its polarizing nature.