In 2017, I failed to get myself to the Venice Film Festival. But this year I can be proud of myself. Here is some step by step of how you can get yourself to the next Venice Film Festival 2018.
Please note that most of my personal experience is based on my own situation as an International student (Indonesian in Italy), specifically studying Cinema, and trying my best to get everything in a very efficient way possible.
Venice Film Festival is one of the oldest World Film Festival. The movie selections, the line of Juries has been through the up and downs in the last 10 years, but this year they stepped it up a couple notch higher. All the films in competitions are worth it to watch, the documentary brings many interesting topics from Italian filmmakers, and they have a lot of Virtual Reality cinema line up for you.
Being asked about Netflix and Amazon phenomenon, Italy, as stated by the Director of the Festival himself, Alberto Barbera, “We simply cannot ignore this phenomenon,” he says. “Most contemporary film-makers are going to Amazon and Netflix with projects. If a film-maker accepts the new rules of the game, I don’t see why a festival shouldn’t do the same.” (excerpt from https://www.festivalscope.com/all/festival/venice-sala-web-1/2017).
You have even many reasons to look up for the next Venice Film festival in 2018.
If you are a student of Cinema study, or Art, try to check the festival website starting in December or January http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/2017. Get yourself to the Accreditation page: http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/2017/accreditation and directly click the "Accreditation for University Students".
You will get a discounted price on the Venice Film Festival's catalogue and discounted prices for tickets of the 57th International Art Exhibition (Giardini and Arsenale, 13 May – 27 November 2017). This year (2017), a price of 40 euro early bird will available until May 31st, and after that the price will be 80 euro, --this is for a pass to watch all of the movies through the Festival--.
You may want to know that the price for the tickets starts at 5 - 650 euro. So to get 80 euro pass for all of the movies, sounds very tempting for me.
Anyway, after you click the "Accreditation for University Students", you can simply follow through and they will do the correspondence via email. Basically, they will ask for a PDF document that stating that you're an University student. You will fill a form online and must be accompanied by detailed and up to date copy of your academic transcript (max 1 file), and a picture for the card (because it can't be transfer to other people). Then you can wait. They will let you know if you are qualified to get the Accreditation or not, and if you passed, they will inform you the details of payment (I paid with a credit card online).
Come early in the first day to get all the stuff you will need, the card, program book (schedule, but no synopsis of the movies), some sheets of infos about VR (Virtual Reality) program, the internet connection, a welcome note from the Director of the Festival, a voucher to get a discount (3 euro discount) to buy the Catalogue (this is the big book with synopsis, etc, in english and Italian). And most important, a pass for waterbus to and from the festival (2 lines, number 20 (Lido Casino - St. Marco) and MC (Lido Casino - Ferrovia)) for the whole festival. You should know that normally they charged 7,5 euro one way trip, means it will take 15 euro per day to get to the Festival. The waterbus pass saves more than 100 euro, so never lose it (because they won't replace it if you lose or damage it).
That 80 euro is perfect for movies in category 'Publico-Tutti gli Accrediti', means you can simply get in line and show the card before you get inside. For some screening hours in Sala Grande, you have to have a printed ticket to be able to watch, some of them you have to pay more. Morning screenings, usually from 0830 mostly for Press and Industry, so you can't get in.
Based on my personal experience here for 3 days, you will caused yourself an Armageddon if you watch 2 movies in a row. Because people get in line since 45 minutes before the screening schedule, and as many of you may know this already, get in line fast is important, because the position of your seat when you watch is also important. And since you will mostly line up with elders (many of them are more than 60 years old), you have to pace yourself up, because Italian elders are all energic and fearless, you don't want to be in competition with them.
My suggestions is, try to watch a movie and get another in a very good time gap. The venues are all in walking distance, but trust me, you will need to get yourself a time plan.
Anyway, the movies I want to watch is more than 30 movies, exclude VR and Shorts. So, you may not be as ambitious as I am, but still I can send you best wishes to have fun around here, as easy as it can be.
In the meantime, wish me luck, 4 movies yesterday and 3 more today.
I will write some film review soon, stay in touch steemians! :*