EXCLUSIVE: Venice Film Festival chief Alberto Barbera has attracted another stellar lineup with A-list talent and awards hopefuls in plentiful supply. Deadline sat down with the festival boss at midway point for a wide-ranging chat, during which we asked him about the reception to the films so far, what he makes of the awards ‘industry’, the health of U.S. studio movies, and his thoughts on yesterday’s Gaza march. Check out our chat below.
DEADLINE: Thanks for taking the time. How are you feeling about the festival so far?
ALBERTO BARBERA: I’m happy because there seems to be happiness about the lineup and quality of the films. We haven’t had any big problems to solve so far. There are a lot of people here. Most of the screenings are sold out. I think it has been a success so far.
DEADLINE: What should people be excited about heading into the second week?
BARBERA: We have a lot of good films left. Maybe less big names and talent but we still have Bigelow, Ozon, some excellent films. I don’t think the attention will decrease.
DEADLINE: I’m interested in how movies are so often instantly framed and judged today as to whether they are Academy Awards contenders or not. Some may say that’s reductive. There may be financial reasons for why that happens. But does it feel to you like the U.S. awards season is even more important than ever, for festivals, the international industry and the U.S. industry?
BARBERA: I would say, yes, it’s certainly more relevant, especially for the Americans. I think Europeans are less involved in this craziness and the expectations around the Oscars…
DEADLINE: And yet with international films flying so high at the Oscars of late and with many good international films being amplified in recent years — the Park Chan-wook movie might be the best reviewed film here so far — it feels like U.S. awards may have become more important for the international business too. There’s a lot of competition…
BARBERA: Yes, and the way the Academy has expanded, you can see how much they’re investing in international outreach…
DEADLINE: Conversely, do you think there has been a dip in the quality of U.S. studio movies in the last decade or so?
BARBERA: That’s an issue, of course. The industry has been through a lot of transformation. The crisis of identity among the major studios is one of the main issues. The reliance on franchise material, the repetition…they’ve moved away from doing what they did in the past: investing in new types of creation, creating new ways of involving the audience and that’s a huge problem. You can’t repeat yourself endlessly, and these movies are so costly…
DEADLINE: Netflix, which has had an important presence on the Lido for years now, has been chasing a Best Picture Oscar for some time. What do you think their chances are this year?
BARBERA: Who knows. It has become very unpredictable. There are many things that go into it, not only the quality of the film. The campaign lasts for months and months: the marketing, the audience response, the amount being spent, it all plays in…
DEADLINE: Does one of their three playing here [Frankenstein, Jay Kelly, A House Of Dynamite] stick out to you as more likely Best Picture material?
BARBERA: I’m not sure. The three films have been largely well-received [A House Of Dynamite launches next week]. There are a lot of potential contenders. Some films we won’t even know about until later in the year. Some are playing at other festivals now…
DEADLINE: Hamnet and Ballad Of A Small Player have seemingly gone down well at Telluride…
BARBERA: I saw all of them. I can’t really talk about the ones that aren’t here, though…
DEADLINE: You’ve attracted a lot of films that feature in the Oscar race. There was a period you also had the midas touch with Best Picture winners. Five of the last six Best Picture winners haven’t debuted at any fall festival, however. Why do you think that is?
BARBERA: I’m not sure. It depends on the release dates, whether films were ready, whether they worked for Venice…last year Anora won. I tried to get Anora for Venice and until the last minute it was up in the air but they decided to go to Cannes. It depends on different elements…
DEADLINE: Do you think Sorrentino will be Italy’s Oscar entry?
BARBERA: It can’t because it doesn’t release in Italy until January…
DEADLINE: Oh, strange. It’s at the fall festivals this year. I loved the movie. I found it very moving…
BARBERA: Yes, it is a very good movie, one of his best…In terms of the release, it’s strange. I’m not sure why they did it like that…
DEADLINE: We’ve spoken to filmmakers from the Middle East recently who have said the festival has a poor track record of taking Palestinian films and that you haven’t selected any in Competition during your tenure. What would you say to that?
BARBERA: There are very few Palestinian films each year, this year even less perhaps, because of the war. I saw only one film that could have had the profile of a Competition film. It wasn’t quite good enough for us, from my point of view, so we declined and I think the film will screen at another festival.
DEADLINE: Was it the right decision that yesterday’s Gaza march couldn’t enter the festival grounds?
BARBERA: They didn’t want to enter. I think around 30 people tried. I asked the organizers of the protest whether they wanted to send a delegation to the red carpet and they said they weren’t interested in doing that and that they didn’t want to interfere with the festival.
DEADLINE: I thought they had said they wanted to march to the festival center…
BARBERA: No, I don’t think so. I offered them a place on the carpet and they said no.
DEADLINE: Do you feel morally obliged to make a stronger statement about Israel’s killing and displacement in Gaza, something the organizers of the march were calling for?
BARBERA: We made an initial statement and then at the pre-opening of the festival the President of the Biennale made a very strong statement against the war in Gaza. There was a priest alongside him who had been refused entry to Israel in recent weeks and who has been very supportive of Palestine…
DEADLINE: Would you personally like to make a stronger statement?
BARBERA: I would do but the Biennale doesn’t make political statements. That’s the reason I haven’t so far.
DEADLINE: If you were to get another mandate as festival head, what would you like to build on?
BARBERA: In these 14 years we’ve finalised all the projects we had in mind in those early years: improving the infrastructure, the organisation, the profile of the festival, the relationships with the majors, Biennale college, immersive cinema etc It took a lot of time. I’d say 90% of our plan has been achieved….
DEADLINE: So your work is largely done?
BARBERA: [Laughs] No, cinema changes so fast. Every year there are new things to think about. The new frontier is AI. This is something we have to face. It will be a deeper and more important revolution than the shift from analogue to digital. This will change the whole way of conceiving, writing, producing, directing and distributing films. We still don’t know what the real impact on cinema will be…
DEADLINE: You’ve achieved so much here. My only advice might be a stronger market, a slightly stronger Horizzonti (which is already good) and more toilets by the screening rooms – there are always such long queues!
BARBERA: [Laughs] We’ve built a lot of toilets! It’s difficult due to the lack of space. It’s a lot better than it was 15 years ago. It used to be a nightmare. In terms of the market, it’s hard to build and construct. We are getting stronger and numbers are good. We have added an extra day.
DEADLINE: Next year Toronto will have a bigger and better-funded market than previous years…
BARBERA: Yes, I know. We’ll have to see…
The post Alberto Barbera On Best Picture Hopefuls, Awards Season “Craziness”, The Health Of U.S. Studio Movies & Yesterday’s Gaza March — Venice At Half Way appeared first on Deadline.
