Festival Summer (almost) without Festivals

Filming for the new Accentus Music documentary about the 2020 festival summer without or with very different and smaller festivals has started.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bayreuth Festival will not take place in 2020 – for the first time since its new beginning after the World War II. And not only Bayreuth, the Mecca for every Wagner fan, is plagued by the virus. Many other prestigious festivals throughout Europe have already been cancelled. The Salzburg Festival, on the other hand, is to take place – albeit in a much smaller form. Instead of 200 performances at 16 venues, around 90 performances are planned at a maximum of six venues. It is hardly surprising that this is being adhered to, especially in the 100th festival year. The losses caused by a complete cancellation would not only be felt by artists and organisers. For many decades, the affected cities have drawn a large part of their self-image from the festival idea – and at the same time have been an important economic factor.
What exactly are the consequences of perhaps the first global festival summer without a festival? The documentary of the same name visits the two cities and talks to the artists, the festival management and the inhabitants of Bayreuth and Salzburg.

Festival Summer Without Festivals (WT)
A film by Günter Atteln and Carmen Belaschk
Produced by Paul Smaczny

A production of Accentus Music and ZDF/3sat.

Production Company Accentus Music
Coproduction Company ZDF/3sat
Executive Producer Paul Smaczny
Director Günter Atteln
Director Carmen Belaschk