Asia’s Uneasy Relationship With Europe’s Film Festivals Continues
variety.comPatrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefOnly a few months ago, hundreds of Asian film executives were expecting to attend this week’s Berlin festival and the European Film Market.
For many, it would have been their first participation in a top-tier overseas festival for nearly two years.But the Omicron variant has upended those dreams.
And, except for those folks with a film playing in the festival, most have stayed at home. Again.That amplifies a trend of diminished Asian participation that was noticeable at both Cannes and Venice in 2021, though was less pronounced at Locarno.And Asia’s own top festivals are becoming similarly disconnected from the rest of the world.
Shanghai, Busan and Tokyo managed to return to their traditional calendar dates and operated as in-person events, but travel restrictions throughout the region crimped program scale, film selections and rendered their physical components almost entirely local.
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