Rome, March 21 – This evening, at 9 pm, the Bif&st 2020, with its 300 events and screenings in 8 days until March 28, was to be inaugurated at the Petruzzelli Theatre. All canceled, as is known. Helen Mirren, Taylor Hackford and Raffaella Leone were expected on the stage of that wonderful theatre tonight to collect their “Fellini Awards” for cinematographic excellence, and then also Marco Bellocchio, Pierfrancesco Favino and Nicola Piovani, while tomorrow evening it would have been the time for Matteo Garrone and Roberto Benigni who should have held his masterclass on Monday 23 March, such as Helen Mirren on Sunday morning and Ken Loach on Wednesday morning. And then again the opening film, Bombshell, highly anticipated and now with Italian release pending. All canceled therefore, and postponed to other dates, not unlike the Cannes festival. Dates that the director of the Bif&st Felice Laudadio has duly suggested to the Puglia Region and to the Apulia Film Commission Foundation for their approval: September 19-26, also due to the availability of the Petruzzelli, Piccinni and Margherita Theatres, the designated places of the Bif&st in which to host the program of the 2020 edition. We obviously hope that it will be possible: it would be a signal that social life resumes and continues and that, even with culture, we return to live, above all thanks to the immense sacrifices that doctors and paramedics of this Country are making and to whom all our admiration, gratitude and solidarity goes.