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The Italians have introduced new health regulations for the Venice Film Festival, which is good news for filmmakers and those who wish to attend the festival.
The Venice Film Festival got a shot in the arm thanks to new guidelines issued by the Italian health authorities that will make it easier for international visitors from outside Europe to attend the event, which runs Sept. 1-11.
However, the ordinance, issued late last week by Italy’s Ministry of Health, does not lift a requirement that travelers from the U.K. must isolate for five days upon arrival in Italy.
Italy’s so-called “mini quarantine” doesn’t apply to British film delegations, which are exempt from isolation since they are entering Italy for “work reasons,” as long as they stay no longer than five days. But this requirement, as things stand, remains a potential impediment for journalists from Britain planning to cover the upcoming Sept. 1-11 event.
“We are monitoring the situation closely,” said a spokesperson for the Venice fest, which was the only top-tier fest to pull off an in-person edition last year.
All festival attendees will need an official certificate proving they are fully vaccinated, have recovered from a COVID infection, or have had a negative antigen test to enter the theaters and screen films at Venice 2021.
The new ruling is good news for Venice, which is hoping this year to attract significantly more industry players, international journalists, and film fans than were able to attend the more restricted 2020 event.
The new ordinance, issued by Italy’s Ministry of Health last week, states that the country will now recognize COVID-19 certificates — confirming vaccination, negative COVID-19 test results, or recovery certificates — issued by the U.S., Canada, Japan, Israel, and the U.K. in addition to those authorized by governments within the European Union.
This means that arrivals to Venice from the U.S., Canada, Israel, and Japan are no longer subject to Italy’s quarantine requirement and travelers to Venice from these areas can now use the certificates issued by their country’s authorities to avoid the requirement.
Beginning on Aug. 6, Italy has made the EU Green Pass, and now some equivalent COVID certifications, mandatory for entry into restaurants, movie theaters, and other gathering venues.
Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera said last week, after announcing a star-studded lineup, that he was confident he would be able to hold the festival “in total safety like we did last year, but with more talent, attendees, spectators,” and “with more user-friendly controls,” he noted.
The 2021 Venice Film Festival, which is set to run as a physical edition from Sept. 1-11, will kick off with Pedro Almodóvar’s “Parallel Mothers”.
Other buzzy titles set to launch from the Lido include Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune,” which was shot in Hungary, Kristen Stewart’s Princess Diana drama “Spencer,” directed by Pablo Larrain, Ridley Scott’s medieval epic “The Last Duel,” and Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog.”
Source: Variety, HollywoodReporter
