The Venice Film Festival Will Not Be Going Digital

Everything is delayed, canceled, or on hold at the moment due to the coronavirus (COVID-19), which means that film festivals are having to make some tough choices. Cannes is postponed. SXSW was canceled, but they recently announced they would try to put together an online film festival with Amazon Prime Video. TIFF has yet to make a decision one way or another, but festival runners Joana Vicente and Cameron Bailey mentioned last week that they were considering a potential digital festival. Digital film festivals are a distinct possibility in several locations, but there's one fest that has flat-out refused to go digital: the Venice Film Festival.

With the coronavirus continuing to upend film festivals across the globe, some are wondering if virtual, online film festivals might be the solution for the time being. And while some fests – SXSW, TIFF – are open to this idea, the Venice Film Festival isn't having it. Speaking with Variety, a Venice spokesperson said: "The Venice Film Festival cannot be replaced by an online event," adding that "there is obviously the possibility that we use technology for some initiatives, [but] it's too early for this to be decided."

The Venice Film Festival is supposed to run in September, and as of now, everyone involved with the fest is still operating under the assumption that the festival is still on. Organizers have put out a call for "projects for its Final Cut in Venice co-production workshop dedicated to supporting works from the Middle East and Africa, currently scheduled to be held during the fest."

Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera was quoted as saying he and his team "are working just the same as in past years" and that they "cannot provide specifics about the future." The only thing they can confirm is that no matter what happens, the festival will not go digital. While some are more than happy to accept the idea of a digital festival – no travel fees! – not everyone is okay with the idea. For one thing, if a film without distribution were to debut digitally and then immediately be pirated, it would hurt its chances at eventual purchase. Plus, many filmmakers and producers long for that festival buzz that can only be achieved by screening titles for a live audience.

But we remain in uncharted territory for the moment, and it's unclear just when the coronavirus situation will end. As of now, Italy remains in strict lockdown, and if that continues into the fall, there's very little chance the Venice Film Festival will go off as planned.