The Venice Film Festival is the world’s oldest film festival. It is annually hosted in Venice during the days between late August and early September. The purpose of this event is to promote the creativity of foreign films and recognize them as assets to the industry. The award event is famous for its prestigious Golden Lion award, which was first awarded in 1949 to the French film “Manon.” Last year, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the award show lacked the glamour that it usually has, as the authorities had decided to scale it down, but as the world begins to recover from the deadly virus, it is time for the Venice Film Festival to ameliorate once again.

The event this year is being held from Sept. 1 to Sept. 11, and many celebrities like Zendaya, Kristen Stewart, and Timothée Chalamet are ready to glam up for the event. The show is featuring several films such as “The Card Counter,” “Dune,” and “Ennio.” The festival celebrates and awards these movies regardless of where they originated. The commemoration of these varying performances is extremely valuable to our society today as it encourages diversity within the world of cinema.

Oftentimes, famous television personalities and characters are idolized, and this has a huge influence on how people develop and what they pick up from the film. Watching movies from one area of the world restricts the opportunity to learn about other cultures, backgrounds, and area-specific topics. Movies and TV shows are generally used as a source of entertainment; however, there is much to learn from them, especially when they introduce new languages and concepts. The Venice Film Festival creates a phenomenally inclusive environment for cinema from all over the world and dignifies the films with the respect and admiration that it deserves. It is serving as a deserving platform to encourage visionary directors and film producers to expand their range of movie plots culturally and create a diverse and in-depth perspective for viewers.

In recent years, movies such as “Moana,” “Finding Ohana,” and “Raya and the Last Dragon” have been a passage to introduce different backgrounds, and educate their target audience, young kids, about different traditions. Adding on, streaming platforms like Netflix have introduced representation series to promote heritages among their viewers. After big culturally diverse film festivals such as this, audiences can expect to receive unique films inspired from foreign movies that will be featured at the event. Official awards to honor these influential movies will be given on the final day of the festival in order to have an enjoyable closing of the event.

Although it is crucial to appreciate the many talented individuals and groups in the film industry, safety remains a major concern. According to the existing and increasing COVID cases, it may not be safe yet to host or attend a full-scale event. The International Federation of Film Producers Association, the organizers, are stating that the event will be designed so that maintaining COVID-19 safety protocols will be easier. They will also have testing stations located on set. While the organizers are taking a risk by putting this event into action, this may be an opportunity to transition out of the COVID restrictions and retreat to normal life. Regardless, this year, the Venice Film Festival is ready to get into full gear and celebrate international cinema to the greatest.