The Venice Film Festival opens tomorrow and here are Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton arriving ahead of the opening night gala. It feels so weird to be posting photos from a festival arrival – even though, around this time of year, this is what we do here. We see shots of celebrities on speedboats pulling up to the Venice photo call. We wait for the shots of the gowns from the red carpet. This is celebrity business as usual… except there is no usual when it comes to any business in 2020.
Still, despite the fact that COVID-19 cases are rising in Europe, Venice is moving ahead with safety precautions, screenings at screenings, temperature checks, and more. And many prominent members of the European film community are expected to be in attendance, including Thierry Fremaux, the head of Cannes, to “reassert the importance of the art of cinema as a sign of solidarity towards the global film industry which has been hit hard by the pandemic”.
Major Hollywood studio pictures don’t have too many entries in Venice as the pandemic has disrupted release schedules and award season but there are a few notables to watch for, including Chloe Zhao’s film, Nomadland, starring Frances McDormand, and Regina King’s One Night in Miami, her directorial debut.
Cate is the festival jury president this year while Tilda is getting a lifetime achievement award and is also there to promote Pedro Almodovar’s The Human Voice. Curious to see if they’ll keep their masks on for the red carpet tomorrow night.
