This time last fall, a robust, in-person film festival season showed an industry in advanced recovery, Covid not all the way gone but not having anywhere near the same devastating impact as before. Big names, big films and big crowds were all back en masse and while it was a difficult race to figure out, the larger picture was easier to see.
But this summer, just as lineups were being figured out and finalised, dual Hollywood strikes caused new problem around the world as festival runners tried to reimagine a season of premieres without A-listers in attendance. Venice had originally been set to open with Luca Guadagnino’s tennis romance Challengers but with its lead Zendaya unable to act as spokesperson, it was pulled (along with its release date). It was a cause for wider concern, at a time of other release dates shifting, and while it didn’t presage the avalanche that many expected, it was the start of another unusual season.
