|
 Organisers hope a strict
coronavirus protocol will help keep the 11-day
movie marathon trouble free. Theatres are
operating at half capacity and a wall is
blocking the view to the red carpet to stop
crowds from gathering outside the main venue,
Palazzo del Cinema, to get an autograph. Face
masks and a health passport - or a negative
COVID test - are required to attend screenings.
"Everybody everywhere is eager to come back, to
reopen, to restart, to release the films that
stayed on the shelf for a year and a half or
maybe two years," festival director Alberto
Barbera told Reuters ahead of the opening
ceremony.
He said that most of the world premieres to be
screened at the festival were already sold out,
and promised that there would be no shortage of
celebrities - even though fans will not be able
to get anywhere near them.
"The red carpet will be one of the most crowded
in years because everybody is here ... from
Timothee Chalamet to Zendaya, from Jessica
Chastain to Matt Damon, Ben Affleck. The list is
so long I can't remember everybody."
Spanish director Pedro Almodovar kicks off the
festival, the world's oldest and a showcase for
Oscar contenders as awards season approaches,
with "Parallel Mothers," starring Penelope Cruz
as one of two single women about to give birth
in the same hospital.
[to top of second column]
|
 Other titles vying for the
Golden Lion award for best film include Jane
Campion's "The Power of the Dog," with Benedict
Cumberbatch as a ranch owner who torments a
young widow (Kirsten Dunst), and Kristen
Stewart's turn as Princess Diana in "Spencer."
Paolo Sorrentino, who will offer a highly
personal film about the loss of his parents when
he was 17, is one of five Italian directors in
the main line-up.
Meanwhile Maggie Gyllenhaal presents her debut
feature movie "The Lost Daughter," based on an
Elena Ferrante novel and starring Olivia Colman
and Dakota Johnson.
Ridley Scott's medieval epic "The Last Duel"
starring Damon and Affleck, and Denis
Villeneuve's hotly anticipated science-fiction
tale "Dune," with Chalamet and Zendaya, will
both screen out of competition.
Chloe Zhao, the director of last year's Golden
Lion winner, "Nomadland" - which went on to
scoop up Oscars for best picture, director and
actress - is part of this year's jury, led by
another Oscar winner, South Korean "Parasite"
director Bong Joon-ho.
(Additional reporting by Mike Davidson; Editing
by Mark Porter)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content |
