Venice Lineup Shows How Cinema Italiano Thrives in Rocky Market
Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThe country’s box office is still sputtering but Italian cinema is instead “in a state of grace,” as Venice chief Alberto Barbera put it recently as he announced the five features from Italy that are competing for the fest’s Golden Lion. It’s the most he’s ever selected from Italy.And Barbera is adamant that he didn’t allocate almost one-fourth of Venice’s 21 competition slots to Cinema Italiano “to support our colors at a difficult time.”“Some years he selects very little from Italy,” notes Barbara Salabè, who is the top Warner Bros.