Five of the 21 films in the competition are directed by women, Barbera said – up from eight last year. “It may seem like a step backwards, but that’s only part of the story,” he added. Female directors appeared to be more affected by the coronavirus pandemic than their male counterparts, he said, adding, “I really hope they make a comeback.”
Bong Joon Ho, the director of “Parasite,” will chair the competition jury, which will include British actress Cynthia Erivo and Chloé Zhao, the director of “Nomadland,” which won the Golden Lion and the Oscar last year Movie.
This year’s festival may see the blockbusters return to Venice, but it will still be far from normal. Roberto Cicutto, the festival’s president, said at the press conference that the rules introduced last year to limit the spread of the coronavirus, such as:
According to Italian government regulations coming into effect on August 6th, anyone attending screenings or even eating indoors on the festival site must provide evidence that they have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, a recent negative test result or a certificate of recovery from the disease in the past six months.
Italy’s government announced the requirements this month as the number of viruses increased across the country. Health officials reported 4,742 new cases on Sunday. That’s well below this year’s high of over 25,000 new daily cases in March, but the surge in cases has caused concern in a country hit hard by the pandemic last year.
“This year we were hoping we could be more relaxed,” said Cicutto. “It is not so for the time being. But we continue to hope. “
