The freelance press corps at the Venice Film Festival is not happy.
There’s growing discontent among its ranks over the decision by a handful of big productions – such as Pablo Larraín’s Maria and Luca Guardagnino’s Queer – not to offer wider interview opportunities outside of the main press conferences.
An open letter posted within the spear of the International Film Festivals Journalists Facebook group has criticized the policy, suggesting it could lead to a boycott of films and talent not doing press at festivals.
The missive dropped as Angelina Jolie touched down in Venice for the world premiere in competition of Maria in which she stars as tragic opera singer Maria Callas.
The letter said move to restrict press access to talent at Venice came at a time when film journalism was already at “risk of extinction”.
It suggested the policy put in jeopardy the livelihoods of journalists whose coverage contributes to the success of films and the renown of directors and actors.
“After having gone on strike for months in Hollywood to save thousands of jobs, now directors and actors, embracing the policy of the same studios and producers who were previously their enemies, are putting just as many jobs at risk, denying interviews to journalists who manage to survive thanks to those interviews,” it read.
The letter explained that getting interviews with big name stars was part of a virtuous circle that enabled film journalists to also give coverage to emerging filmmakers and actors.
“Outlets always favor names, stars and mainstream projects. If journalists get those stars, then they can also make sure the first-time filmmakers, the innovators, along with all the beautifully talented artists with less commercial appeal can get their media exposure too, through their effort,” it read.
Per the festival’s own figures, round 3,000 media professionals – across print, digital and broadcast – are due to attend Venice this year.
Attendance, however, is costly with accommodation rates on the Lido and mainland Venice shooting up during the period of the festival, as is the case at all the big A-list film events.
The letter said that the lack of talent availability was a bitter pill to swallow because Venice’s 81st edition promised to be star-studded after the absence of Hollywood talent in 2023 due to SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes.
It added that the lack of talent availability was not confined to Venice but that it was particularly pronounced at this edition.
“This ‘red carpet activity only’ message from publicists has been building up for a while, also during other festivals, such as Cannes and Berlinale,” it read.
“However, the scope of their unavailability during this upcoming festival is unprecedented. The festival is bringing names to achieve prestige and media exposure but then seem to develop amnesia when it comes to the actual journalists,” it read.
Thursday’s letter came hot-on-the-heels of questions to Venice Film Festival Artistic Director Alberto Barbera in the opening jury press conference on Wednesday on the lack of film junkets for big this year.
The festival head replied that he holds no sway over the press campaigns of the films he selects, also saying he did not see a junket drought.
Around 3,000 media professionals – across print, digital and broadcast – are due to attend Venice this year.
Attendance comes with a hefty price tag with accommodation rates on the Lido and mainland Venice jumping during the period of the festival.
The letter concluded that the festivals would suffer in the long run, if journalists did not get interview opportunities with the big films.
“Today the protest has just begun, but soon there could be hundreds of journalists and outlets boycotting films and artists denying access to interviews at festivals. Eventually the protest could involve the festivals themselves, which risks seeing the departure of hundreds of accredited journalists and publications and where the commentary on films and the opinion of their authors will be left to artificial intelligence.”
The International Film Festivals Journalists group was created during the 2020 Covid-10 lockdown, when many key festivals were offline, by Italian freelance journalist Marco Consoli.
Today, it numbers 700 members — including journalists, film publicists and festival programmers. Consoli said some 50 journalists within its ranks had signed the letter with their numbers likely to grow.
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