The Cannes Film Festival at the time of Covid: attacked in the room, standing apart

The Cannes Film Festival at the time of Covid

From preventive medical measures to the program, the Festival has not yet started but it is already in history. Armed with health certificates and masks, reminding us to distance ourselves even if we are close in the room, we are getting ready to face it

Whatever happens, what starts tomorrow in Cannes will be a unique edition. First of all, because the Festival restarts in attendance after the forced stop last year. The pandemic, we know well, is still ongoing, but with the appropriate health measures the Festival will take place. And here we start with the first degression. Are we sure, to begin with, that they are "adequate" measures? There is the obligation to wear a mask in the hall and in the Palais du Festival, and the obligation to show a certificate attesting to an entire vaccination cycle completed for at least two weeks or, alternatively, the result of a swab (negative, yes 'intends) no less than 48 hours prior. The Festival also offers a free laboratory so that the press and professionals can follow the festival safely, with the possibility of free salivary swabs.

iPa Image Why only press and professionals? Because, it is worth remembering, Cannes is not a festival for the public, who do not have the opportunity to access the prestigious Premiere, if not praying all day in front of the entrance to the Palais with a sign in hand with the inscription Invitation. In my more than ten years of festival, I have seen people of various ages do anything to make up for an invitation to a preview with their favorite star even at the last minute. This year, with the electronically pre-established seats, it will be a Mission impossible, but I am ready to bet that there will be more than one avid fan bent on defying the festival’s stainless rules. Which, let's face it, are not so inconceivable: the non-quota seats in the screening rooms are of great concern, as is the specification on one of the numerous press releases according to which the vaccination certificate / negative result of the swab must be shown only inside the Palais , therefore not in the two largest and most capacious rooms, just outside the Palais and equipped, the Festival ensures, with an innovative and ad hoc ventilation system.

So, armed with confidence, reminding us to have the obligation of distancing even if we will be sitting next to each other in the room, holding tight health certificates and masks, we are preparing to face the festival, hoping that the unknown colleague who will sit next to us has no trace of a symptom. And what if, in the end, you get Covid-19 right in Cannes? The most organized film festival in the world also responds to this: there is a permanent medical unit to assist those who develop symptoms, complete with a set-up isolation room.

In the meantime, the way to view has also changed. the films, to be booked strictly online as already happened in Venice, Berlin and Rome, on the appropriate platform. Crashed on the first day, as was to be expected, initially it also showed almost all the films as already booked and therefore not available. The next day, those in charge adjusted their sights and added "new bookable seats", but not for everything: for example, the special meeting (Rendez Vous) with Jodie Foster on 7 July sold out within a few hours of starting of the platform and never appeared again available. We wrote to the press office, the response was: "It's a year of news for everyone, we trust in your understanding and we wish you a good festival". We understand many things, except why we will not be allowed to meet Jodie.

Not just an edition of technical misunderstandings and anti-Covid precautionary measures, anyway: also a decidedly stimulating edition on paper and outside the box, from the choice of the official poster dedicated to the president of the jury Spike Lee to the opening with the new film by Leos Carax Annette, a dark and delirious musical, starring and produced by Adam Driver. The public will certainly not be disappointed: the legendary Cinema de La Plage, set up on the beach a few meters from the Palais and on the red carpet, offers this year a full and free program every day at 9.30 pm. It starts tomorrow night with Wong Kar-wai's In the Mood for Love, continues with a series of films including Oliver Stone's JFK presented by the director himself, and the European premiere of Fast and Furious 9 on July 12. Closing with a flourish with David Byrne's American Utopia by Jury President Spike Lee. Here too (deckchairs) not spaced apart, but at least outdoors and facing the sea.


Cinema - 3 Jul

Before 007 there is OSS 117. And now it arrives in Italy


The Black Widow XXX by Italian Axel Braun who Scarlett Johansson doesn't like


The trailer for the Monster of the Crypt, retro horror by Manetti Bros

Topics

Cinema globalData.fldTopic = "Cinema"

This opera is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.