The Venice film festival opens on Wednesday and continues until 12 September.
The directors of seven European film festivals shared the stage at the opening of the 77th Venice film festival to help kick-start an industry that they said was in danger of being usurped by streaming sites such as Netflix because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Venice head Alberto Barbera said film festivals might have a “reduced role” after the pandemic, which caused every major festival to cancel or offer a hybrid of online and physical screenings.
Barbera said: “The feeling of watching a film on the large screen with other people is in the very nature of the film industry.