Alberto Barbera: Last News

Alberto Barbera will remain director of the Venice International Film Festival for at least another four years. La Biennale di Venezia, the parent organization that oversees the Venice Fest, announced Tuesday that it was re-upping Barbera as its head of cinema for another four-year term, from 2021-2024.

Marta Balaga “At least for the main competition, we have achieved almost complete parity without having to modify our selection criteria and these [female-directed] films have been positively welcomed. This goes to show that Venice doesn’t have any kind of bias,” said the Venice Film Festival’s artistic director Alberto Barbera at a seminar on gender equality and inclusivity earlier this week at the festival.Competition films by women directors at the festival include “Nomadland,” directed by Chloe Zhao (pictured); her film premieres Friday. Barbera also mentioned Biennale College, where only two out of four selected projects were made this year due to the pandemic – both of them by women.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorAt the Venice Film Festival’s annual press lunch today, Artistic Director Alberto Barbera offered further insight into down-to-the-wire preparations for what has so far been a very successful mounting of the pandemic era’s first major industry event. He also talked about some of the titles that were still under discussion until near the September 2 launch, as well as talent travel issues.

Andreas Wiseman International EditorThis has been a Venice like no other. The world’s first COVID-era festival is taking place amid a slew of health and safety protocols and has had to adjust expectations accordingly.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorAfter a day of early press screenings and conferences, the Venice Film Festival officially was declared open this evening by the directors of several major European fests including Venice’s own Alberto Barbera and Cannes’ Thierry Frémaux.But before they got to the stage of the Sala Grande, there was plenty to remark upon during the first evening of the first major film industry gathering of the COVID pandemic era. With deference to Verdi’s opera, this could be coined as the Lido’s Un Ballo In Maschera.

If you’re a fan of films (and you’re reading this website, so that probably means you are), then you are likely someone that supports the theatrical experience and wants to see cinemas thrive. Unfortunately, no matter how many of us really support theaters and the big screen experience, there is no denying that streaming platforms have become more and more ubiquitous and powerful.

The 77th Venice International Film Festival opened Wednesday with few stars and fewer fans but with a determination that, coronavirus pandemic or not, the show must go on. By kicking off the first major festival to start since the pandemic, Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera has said he hopes to prove "a restart for cinema" and a sign that the global film industry could bounce back after months of enforced shutdown.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThe 77th Venice Film Festival kicked off today amid a surreal sense of empty spaces, countered by the morale-boosting presence of Cate Blanchett, who during the opening press conference zeroed in on the milestone event’s crucial importance for the global film industry.Blanchett, in fine fettle, praised organizers for their “inventiveness and resilience” in assembling the first major coronavirus-era physical fest, which she said seems “a miracolo” (Italian for miracle).

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorIn a sign of unity, Artistic Directors of several major European Film Festivals gathered for a press conference here in Venice this afternoon. Venice Film Festival chief Alberto Barbera and the others will appear on stage at this evening’s opening ceremony to reassert the importance of cinema and in solidarity towards the global film industry which has been hit hard by the COVID pandemic.

By Hanna RantalaVENICE, Italy (Reuters) - Fewer Hollywood stars will grace the red carpet and there will be no fans clamouring for autographs.But for all the COVID-19 restrictions, director Alberto Barbera says the very fact that the Venice film festival is going ahead in front of live audiences this week sends a positive message."We think that it's time to restart for cinema," Barbera told Reuters on the eve of the festival, which runs from Sept. 2-12 and is now in its 77th year."We need to reopen the theatres.

Call it Operation Reboot. When the 77th Venice Film Festival kicks off Sept.

Fall Film Festival Season is upon us! Though the size and scope of the events being presented this season are a bit smaller due to the pandemic. However, beginning with Venice, the film festival industry, which has largely been canceled due to COVID-19 is expected to restart with in-person screenings and fanfare that we normally expect this time of year.

Andreas Wiseman International EditorIn a show of support for festivals in the pandemic era, eight artistic directors of leading European film festivals will take part in the opening night of the Venice Film Festival on September 2.The eight directors – Alberto Barbera (Venice Film Festival), Carlo Chatrian (Berlinale), Thierry Fremaux (Festival de Cannes), Lili Hinstin (Festival di Locarno), Vanja Kaludjeric (Rotterdam Film Festival), Karel Och (Karlovy Vary), José Luis Rebordinos (San Sebastian) and Tricia Tuttle (London Film Festival) – will attend in order to “reassert the importance of the art of cinema as a sign of solidarity towards the global film industry which has been hit hard by the pandemic,” the Venice Film Festival said.

Eli Countryman Day three of the Locarno Film Festival StepIn 2020, moderated by Variety‘s Leo Barraclough and hosted by the Variety Streaming Room platform, brought professionals from various parts of the film festival and market sectors together for a panel on the Future of Film Festivals and Film Markets.Jérôme Paillard, executive director of Cannes Film Market; Lili Hinstin, artistic director of the Locarno Film Festival; Alberto Barbera, artistic director of the Venice Film Festival; Sarah Schweitzman, from CAA’s Film Finance and Sales Group, which helped set up the agency-led virtual film market at Cannes; and Tabitha Jackson, director of Sundance Film Festival, made up the panel’s members.As many events this year have gone virtual on

Regina King’s directorial debut, One Night In Miami, has been added to the line-up for the Venice Film Festival’s upcoming 77th edition.The Watchmen star’s movie, her first feature behind the camera, takes place in 1964 and follows a young Cassius Clay – later known to the world as Muhammad Ali – after he wins the title of world heavyweight boxing champion.King is already an experienced TV director with credits on shows such as Scandal and This Is Us.“We are pinching ourselves to have been selected to be a part of the Venice Film Festival – such a prestigious festival,” said the Oscar winner, while Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera adds:“Regina King’s film could not be more in step with the events of recent months and the importance

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorAs suggested by Venice Film Festival chief Alberto Barbera last week, the 77th edition has added to its lineup. Both Pedro Almodovar’s The Human Voice and Regina King’s One Night In Miami are now among the Out of Competition titles for the Lido event that runs September 2-12.Almodóvar’s latest, a 30-minute adaptation of the original stage play by Jean Cocteau, was filmed and edited in record time as soon as the lockdown was lifted.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorIn an introduction to the Venice Film Festival lineup announced this morning in Rome, Alberto Barbera, commented, “The winter of our dismay turned into a springtime of anxiety, and then slipped slowly into a summer marked by uncertainty and fear over a fraught future.” The fest’s director later spoke with Deadline about the process — and challenges — leading up to today’s unveiling of what’s to come at the first major international film gathering since the coronavirus pandemic began; as well as a greatly-reduced presence of flashy Hollywood movies which have become a staple of the Lido event.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentVenice Film Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera has been through a rollercoaster ever since the coronavirus crisis struck.But he never stopped working, and on Tuesday unveiled a 60-title lineup which, while a bit thin on Hollywood glitz, represents the core essence of Venice any year. A rich roster of quality films from top global auteurs and some newcomers that confirms “the vibrancy of contemporary film,” as Barbera put it in his introduction.

MILAN — Fewer A-list stars will stumble out of parties along the lagoon to be snapped by paparazzi in boats. But organizers of this year’s Venice film festival are promising plenty of movies — on actual screens in front of actual audiences — for the first time since the worldwide pandemic shut showbiz.

Guy Lodge Film CriticIn a normal year, the announcement of the Venice Film Festival lineup — often coming on the heels of its Toronto counterpart across the pond — triggers the first whisperings of awards season. Once second to Cannes in the European festival prestige stakes, Venice has in the last decade taken advantage of its late-summer scheduling to premiere any number of glossy fall hopefuls, from “Gravity” to “La La Land” to “A Star is Born.”But this is not a normal year, and in turn, Venice fest director Alberto Barbera today unveiled an unconventional lineup — light on big U.S.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorRefresh for latest…: The Venice Film Festival is unveiling its lineup for the 77th edition this morning in Rome. This will be the first major international film event to take place physically since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, and will be held from September 2-12 on the Lido.