With masks and tests, the stars are making a big comeback at the prestigious Venice Film Festival!
The Venice Film Festival opens on Wednesday with the return of Hollywood stars who avoided it last year due to a coronavirus pandemic.
Organizers hope a strict health protocol will help avoid problems in the 11-day film marathon.
The theaters will operate at half the capacity, and the wall will block the view of the red carpet to prevent the creation of crowds of audiences wanting to get an autograph, in front of the Palazzo del Cinema.
It is necessary to have a health pass or a negative test for covid-19 and wear a mask.
“Everyone everywhere wants to go back, reopen, restart, release films that have been on the shelf for a year and a half or maybe two years,” festival director Alberto Barbera told Reuters ahead of the opening ceremony.
Barbera said most of the world’s premieres have already sold out and vowed that there will be a plethora of celebrities even though fans won’t be able to get close to them.
"There will be the most crowds on the red carpet because everyone is here ... Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Jessica Chastain, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck. The list is so long I can't even remember them all," he said.
Spanish director Pedro Almodovar will open the world’s oldest film festival with the film “Parallel Mothers” starring Penelope Cruz as one of two single women to give birth in the same hospital.
Other titles vying for the Golden Lion Award for Best Picture are “The Power of a Dog” directed by Jane Campion with Benedict Cumberbatch as a ranch owner abusing a young widow embodied by Kirsten Dunst and “Spencer” with Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana.
Paolo Sorrentino will present us with a very personal and intimate film about the loss of his parents when he was 17 years old.
Maggie Gyllenhaal presents her debut feature film “Lost Daughter” based on Elena Ferrante’s novel starring Olivia Colman and Dakota Johnson.
Ridley Scott’s “Last Duel” with Damon and Affleck in the lead roles and the eagerly awaited sci-fi story “Dune” by Denis Villeneuve with Chalamet and Zendaya will be screened out of competition.
Chloe Zhao, director of “Nomadland,” last year’s Golden Lion and Oscar winner for Best Photo, director and actress - is part of this year’s jury led by another Oscar winner, South Korean “Parasite” director Bong Joon-ho.
By: Amber V. - Gossip Whispers
