“The show must go on,” said Sylvia Bizio. the hollywood reporter Speaking by phone Tuesday in the southern Italian city of Ostuni, Allora Fest, a new film festival run by a veteran Italian journalist in association with Italian art critic Sol Costale Dulton, has just wrapped up its first day.
About 48 hours earlier, Oscar-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis, director of planning for the Allora Fest, was arrested in Auston after a British woman told authorities that Haggis had sexually assaulted her. (The writer, director and producer has since been indicted on four other counts of sexual assault in the United States.) Haggis’ Italian lawyer Michele Laforgia said Haggis was “completely innocent.”
Haggis has helped several Hollywood celebrities at Allora Fest: Edward Norton and Alfre Woodard honored their commitments to attend masterclasses on Tuesday, and others will attend the festival, which runs through June 26, including Jeremy O’Reilly. , John Ham, Matt Dillon and Marisa Tomei.
Meanwhile, Haggis himself moderated a series of masterclasses, and his son James Haggis, assistant director, and daughter Alice Haggis, screenwriter, gave their own masterclasses (the latter together with screenwriter Amanda Moresco, daughter of Bobby Moresco). , daughter, Gaigina, O. Accident).
At the time of Haggis’ arrest, his aforementioned relatives had already arrived in Auston; However, the festival decided not to continue with its masterclasses. “We removed them from active participation,” said Bizio, a respected and long-time member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. THRHe added that he and Doulton participated in moderating the masterclasses that Haggis himself will give.
What about Haggis, who is allegedly under house arrest at an Austin hotel? “It’s not that I wasn’t invited,” explained Bizio. “Legally you cannot participate. And honestly, between now and the 26th, I have a strong suspicion that this will be resolved. ”
Source: Hollywood Reporter
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