'Some things will only be discovered on the big screen': directors stress the importance of cinema from Venice Film Festival

Venice Film Festival is the first in-person industry event in the Covid-19 era

Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar arrives for the premiere of 'The Human Voice' during the 77th Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy. EPA

Spanish director Pedro Almodovar has joined a chorus of voices at the Venice Film Festival urging the reopening of cinemas after coronavirus lockdowns, saying films are meant to be seen on the big screen, not at home.

Venice organisers have prided themselves on pushing ahead with the festival despite the many anti-virus restrictions that include protective masks during all screenings, theatres at a half or one-third capacity and rigorous temperature checks and sanitisation. The festival hopes to chart a path forward for a film industry hard-hit by global lockdowns.

Almodovar, who premiered his short film The Human Voice on Thursday, said streaming platforms had played an "essential role" in keeping people entertained during months of virus-required confinement at home.

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See pictures from the opening ceremony of the 77th Venice Film Festival:

Tilda Swinton, in Chanel, walks the red carpet ahead of the Opening Ceremony during the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2020 in Venice, Italy. Getty Images

Tilda Swinton poses with her ornate face mask. Reuters

Cate Blanchett, in Esteban Cortazar, walks the red carpet ahead of the Opening Ceremony during the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2020 in Venice, Italy. Getty Images

Festival director Alberto Barbera and Cate Blanchett touch elbows as they arrive for the Opening Ceremony. EPA

Model Taylor Hill, in Etro, walks the red carpet ahead of the Opening Ceremony during the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2020 in Venice, Italy. EPA

Italian actress Anna Foglietta, in Armani, walks the red carpet ahead of the Opening Ceremony during the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2020 in Venice, Italy. EPA

Italian singer Elodie, in Versace, walks the red carpet ahead of the Opening Ceremony during the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2020 in Venice, Italy. EPA

Matt Dillon walks the red carpet ahead of the Opening Ceremony during the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2020 in Venice, Italy. EPA

Lotte Verbeek, in Alberta Ferretti, walks the red carpet ahead of the Opening Ceremony during the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2020 in Venice, Italy. Getty Images

Roberto Cicutto, Joanna Hogg, Matt Dillon, Christian Petzold, Veronika Franz, Alberto Barbera, Cate Blanchett and Ludivine Sagnier walk the red carpet ahead of the Opening Ceremony. Getty Images

Cate Blanchett, second row left, and Matt Dillon, second row right, wear face masks during the Opening Ceremony. EPA

Tilda Swinton is presented with the Golden Lion Lifetime Award by Cate Blanchett during the Opening Ceremony. Getty Images

Tilda Swinton holds her Golden Lion For Lifetime Achievement award. AP

Paola Turani walks the red carpet ahead of the Opening Ceremony during the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2020 in Venice, Italy. Getty Images

Roberta Armani walks the red carpet ahead of the Opening Ceremony during the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2020 in Venice, Italy. Getty Images

Laura Morante walks the red carpet ahead of the Opening Ceremony during the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2020 in Venice, Italy. EPA

Erika Aurora walks the red carpet ahead of the Opening Ceremony during the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2020 in Venice, Italy. Getty Images

Ester Exposito walks the red carpet ahead of the Opening Ceremony during the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2020 in Venice, Italy. AP

Melita Toscan du Plantier walks the red carpet ahead of the Opening Ceremony during the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2020 in Venice, Italy. Getty Images

Noemi Brando walks the red carpet ahead of the Opening Ceremony during the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2020 in Venice, Italy. Getty Images

Eleonora Gaggero walks the red carpet ahead of the Opening Ceremony during the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2020 in Venice, Italy. Getty Images

Ludivine Sagnier walks the red carpet ahead of the Opening Ceremony during the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2020 in Venice, Italy. Getty Images

Maria Leitner walks the red carpet ahead of the Opening Ceremony during the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2020 in Venice, Italy. Getty Images

Italian singer Diodato walks the red carpet ahead of the Opening Ceremony during the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2020 in Venice, Italy. EPA

Sveva Alviti and Anthony Delon walk the red carpet ahead of the Opening Ceremony during the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2020 in Venice, Italy. Getty Images

Festival director Alberto Barbera and his wife walk the red carpet ahead of the Opening Ceremony during the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2020 in Venice, Italy. EPA

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But he said they had also contributed to the “dangerous” phenomenon of people growing increasingly comfortable living, working and eating at home — a type of “imprisonment” that he said must be resisted.

“And the antidote is the cinema,” he said, describing going out, sitting next to strangers in a movie theatre where “you find yourself crying or rejoicing with other people.”

“If I put my film on a platform like Netflix, then I somehow lose that contact and that meeting point with the spectator,” he said. “So you have to tell people to go to the cinema, to go to the theatres, because some things will only be discovered on the big screen, in the dark with people that we do not know.”

Daniele Luchetti's family drama Ties received a sustained round of applause when it opened the festival on Wednesday night. But the Italian director said Thursday there was something off: Social distancing rules for the theatre made viewers feel like they were in a "vacuum bubble" and dispersed the sound of the clapping at the end.

“I know very well how an audience reacts to a movie, both when they like and when they don’t like it,” Luchetti told The Associated Press after his film premiered. “This time the atmosphere was very unusual. Just the fact of not having a person on your side: I couldn’t turn and see a crowd of people either laughing or watching carefully.”

He said he heard the applause at the end, but said it was sparse, given every other seat was left empty. “It was an applause in a space with a different balance,” he said. But he conceded, “I believe we need to get used to this.”

Tilda Swinton, who stars in Almodovar's short and received a Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement award, made the same point from the stage of the Lido's main theatre, saying she was overwhelmed seeing the eyes and ears of the audience (though not their mouths because they were all covered in masks.)

“When I ask myself how I might adequately express my gratitude for this honour, words fail me,” she said. “But I think I can tell you something of what it means to be here with you tonight: What it means to be in a room with living creatures at a big screen. What it means to be about to see a film, in Venice,” she said. “Pure joy.”