Italian health authorities have announced that the country will recognize COVID-19 certificates issued by five countries outside the European Union, including the U.S. and U.K., in what amounts to good news for international film delegations set to attend the upcoming Venice Film Festival.
However the ordinance, issued late last week by Italy’s Ministry of Health, does not lift a requirement that travelers from the U.K. must isolate for five days upon arrival in Italy.
Italy’s so-called “mini quarantine” doesn’t apply to British film delegations, which are exempt from isolating since they are entering Italy for “work reasons,” as long as they stay no longer than five days. But this requirement, as things stand, remains a potential impediment for journalists from Britain planning to cover the upcoming Sept. 1-11 event.
“We are monitoring the situation closely,” said a spokesperson for the Venice fest, which was the only top-tier fest to pull off an in-person edition last year.
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Meanwhile, vaccination certificates, negative COVID-19 test results, and recovery certificates issued by the U.S., Canada, Israel, Japan and the U.K., will be recognized by Italy in much the same way as the European Union’s digital COVID certificate, which is also known as “Green Pass.”
This means that arrivals to Venice from the U.S., Canada, Israel and Japan are no longer subject to Italy’s quarantine requirement and travelers to Venice from these areas can now use the certificates issued by their country’s authorities in order to avoid the requirement.
Beginning on Aug. 6, Italy has made the E.U. Green Pass, and now some equivalent COVID certifications, mandatory for entry into restaurants, movie theaters and other gathering venues.
Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera said last week, after announcing a star-studded lineup, that he was confident he would be able to hold the festival “in total safety, like we did last year, but with more talent, attendees, spectators,” and “with more user-friendly controls,” he noted.
Roberto Cicutto, who is president of the Venice Biennale, which oversees the event, said “there is a political will to have the festival take place in the best possible way,” indicating that the Italian government is cooperative.
The 2021 Venice Film Festival, which is set to run as a physical edition from Sept. 1-11, will kick off with Pedro Almodóvar’s “Parellel Mothers.”
Other buzzy titles set to launch from the Lido include Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune,” Kristen Stewart’s Princess Diana drama “Spencer,” directed by Pablo Larrain, Ridley Scott’s medieval epic “The Last Duel,” and Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog.”
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