By Lindsey Bahr, AP Film Writer
VENICE, Italy --The show will go on for the Venice Film Festival in September, but with a few modifications due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Organizers said Tuesday that they are pushing forward with plans for its 77th installment, which will include a slightly reduced number of films in the main competition as well as some outdoor and virtual screenings. If the schedule stays intact, it will be the first major film festival since COVID-19 essentially shut down the industry in mid-March.
Festival director Alberto Barbera said in a statement that he is "extremely pleased that the Biennale Cinema can be held with a minimum reduction of films and sections" and that "a significant number of directors and actors will accompany films to the Lido."
There will still be 50 to 55 films in the official selection, which will be announced on July 28, and screenings will take place in the traditional venues as well as two outdoor arenas (at the Giardini della Biennale and a skating rink on the Lido) with adopted safety measures established by authorities.
The festival will take its Virtual Reality section online and this year forego its Sconfini section, which hosts smaller films and genre fare, to accommodate more socially distanced screenings of the major films in competition. Actress Cate Blanchett is presiding over the main competition jury.
Travel to Italy, an early epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, is allowed from European countries. The European Union last week said it would reopen its border to 14 nations, but most Americans have been refused entry due to soaring coronavirus infections in the U.S. Press from countries with travel restrictions will be able to view press conferences virtually, Barbera said.
"Without forgetting the countless victims of these past few months to whom due tribute shall be paid, the first international festival following the forced interruption dictated by the pandemic becomes the meaningful celebration of the re-opening we all looked forward to, and a message of concrete optimism for the entire world of cinema which has suffered greatly from this crisis," Barbera said.
The Toronto International Film Festival, which is typically held on the heels of Venice in September, has already announced plans for a smaller 2020 version, with fewer films and virtual red carpets. Both festivals serve as major launching grounds for awards hopefuls, although no one know how exactly it will work now that runway to the Oscars has been extended by two months.
The Venice Film Festival runs from Sept. 2-12.
Apple’s “Fuzzy Feelings” Wins Primetime Commercial Emmy Award
Apple’s “Fuzzy Feelings” won the primetime commercial Emmy this evening (9/7) during the first of two Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremonies being held this weekend in the Peacock Theater at LA Live. The yuletide film out of TBWAMedia Arts Lab was directed by Lucia Aniello via Hungry Man in tandem with stop-motion animator Anna Mantzaris of Passion Pictures.
“Fuzzy Feelings” introduces us to an office worker by day and stop-motion artist by night. As an employee, she works for a boss whom she’s grown to hate. So at night, her stop-motion creations put him in dire straits. The young woman makes her stop-motion fare by deploying the iPhone 15 Pro camera and a MacBook Air with M2 to edit it. However, when the woman's day job takes a turn and she starts to see her boss in another light, so too do her stop-motion endeavors as we see the value of working towards a kinder world, and what better time to start than during the holiday season?
Director Aniello is no stranger to the Emmy proceedings. As creator of the HBO Max series Hacks, she has won two Emmys (writing and directing) as well as a DGA Award. This year she is nominated for three more Emmys on the strength of Hacks--Outstanding Comedy Series as well as writing and directing for a comedy series.
This marks the second straight year that an Apple film has won the coveted primetime commercial Emmy. Back in January 2024, Apple’s “The Greatest,” directed by Kim Gehrig of Somesuch, came away with the Emmy.
This time around, “Fuzzy Feelings” topped a field of nominated commercials consisting of: Apple’s “Album Cover” from Apple’s in-house creatives and directed by David Shane of O Positive; Uber One | Uber Eats’ “Best Friends,” also... Read More