In the grand Palazzo del Cinema, the epicenter of the Festival, the audience rose to their feet and applauded incessantly for a full 15 minutes, way past the end credits rolled for every single film in the lineup. The applause ranged from enthusiastic clapping to full-on roars of sobs and maudlin displays of emotion, often drowning the outtro film score.
Festival Director Antonio Banderossi commented with obvious awe, 'While we applaud our audience's unmatched enthusiasm, we have to say it's off putting. We weren't sure whether they misunderstood us when we spoke about showing some appreciation for the films.'
The first film to 'receive' astanding ovation was 'The History of Walking,' a 3-hour existential exploration of pedestrianism - not exactly the sort of film typically expected to incite victorious fits of applause. Baffle turned into trend as this reaction replicated itself for every subsequent film screening. Word quickly spread about the Venice Festival's attendees collective overreaction, sparking numerous theories about this unorthodox behavior.
Italian cultural anthropologist and frequent attendee of the festival, Prof. Luigi Veronesi, suggested that the spontaneous standing ovations could be a form of nostalgic sentiment, as cinema-goers missed the collective experience during lockdown. 'People are excited, exuberant even, at the prospect of returning to a shared experience. These standing ovations are a manifestation of that.'
Meanwhile, French film critic Gaston Leclerc views it as a protest against 'the typical hierarchy of art consumption.' He posits, 'The audience is subverting the traditional norms. They are defying the expectedly tepid response to many a film.'
Theories abound, but the standing ovation contagion shows no signs of slowing. More importantly, it poses an existential question – to stand or not to stand and applaud? In Venice, this year, the answer is a definitive, resounding stand, and applaud.