Forget anything I told you a couple of weeks ago about the Ischia, Italy Film Festival. Here’s the real information about the real festival, run by the great Pascale Vicedomini. I’m booking my tickets now!

“The 18th annual Ischia Global Film & Music Fest is going to take place here this July as planned, except it will be called ‘Ischia Smart 2020’ to reflect the immediate needs of Italy’s Film and Audiovisual Industry, which is going through such a difficult time, along with the Campania region where the Isle of Ischia is located,” it was announced today by Pascal Vicedomini and Tony Renis, the festival’s founder and honorary chairperson. 

“We owe it to an island that over a period of 18 years has become a significant reference point for international show business, and we wish to convey to the world the image of a typical Italian summer in a safe region. Campania, as its Governor Vincenzo De Luca has defined it – is a land full of optimism and enthusiasm that is ready to relaunch its artistic treasures and welcome tourists back to its unique locations,” he continued.

The dates of the festival – announced in February in the US, during the 15th edition of the “Los Angeles, Italia Film, Fashion and Art Fest” by producer Vicedomini and board-member Franco Nero have been confirmed as July 12 to 19. It will shortly be launched by a number of promotional and digital events in Italy and throughout the world. 

Renis noted that over the years more and more Hollywood stars and studios have attended the annual gathering, with the expectation that they will be returning for future editions. “Ischia is a sought- after destination all over the world. Italy has always been the ideal setting for international productions thanks to its breathtaking landscapes and its talented film professionals,” he added. “And we hope that the beautiful Green Island will be chosen as a location for the upcoming television series ‘Ripley’ to be written and directed by the Academy Award-winning Steven Zaillian, who presided over last year’s festival.” 

In compliance with the new rules imposed by the world health emergency, the Ischia Global Fest will make use of state-of-the-art technology and social platforms to create virtual events with leading personalities from the show business and artistic worlds participating. The artists will be connected live from their own locations to interact with the Italian professionals on the island. 

The board of the Global Film & Music Festival, promoted with the support of Mibact (Dg Cinema,) the Campania Region and the participation of Siae and Nuovo Imaie, includes Renis as well as honorary president Trudie Styler (UK), and board-members Mark and Dorothy Canton, Marina Cicogna, former AMPAS president Cheryl Boone Isaacs, and marketing-executive Al Newman (USA) amongst others.

There was a movie of “Fiddler on Roof,” the musical, back in 1971 as it ended its seven year run on Broadway. Norman Jewison directed it, Chaim Topol starred as Tevye. The movie holds up nicely.

But who cares? It’s time for a remake. Thomas Kail, director of “Hamilton” on Broadway and “Fosse/Verdon” on TV, will direct. Producers include Dan Jinks, Kail, and Aaron Harnick, the 51 year old grandson of 96 year old Sheldon Harnick, who wrote the Tony award winning book for “Fiddler.” (Aaron’s mother is the great actress Barbara Barrie.)

The Jewison movie was not a big hit when it came out, but it grew in popularity over the years. A new version is not a bad idea, but it will depend on fealty to the source material, and who will be cast in the major roles. There have been two recent revivals on and off Broadway in recent years. The Broadway one starred Danny Burstein, who was nominated for a Tony and would be excellent in the new film as Tevye. The off Broadway version was directed by Joel Grey, and performed Yiddish to much acclaim. If Kail could figure out a way to combine those two efforts, it would be ideal.

The great stage Tevyes of the past were Zero Mostel, who originated the role, and Herschel Bernardi, whose son, Michael Bernardi, was in the revival not as Tevye but stepped in as an understudy.

Could Kail go with Lin Manuel Miranda, the creator of “Hamilton,” as Tevye? Why not? He’d be great.

MGM will make the new movie. My only concern is that turns out like “Home for Purim,” the movie that was supposed to be made in Christopher Guest’s hilarious comedy, “For Your Consideration.” Producers arrive on set and proclaim the movie “too Jewish.” They change the title and the holiday (to Thanksgiving). In Hollywood, you could see a very sanitized PC new “Fiddler” in which no one is Jewish, Anatevka is suddenly a small town in Iowa, and Tevye IS a rich man, named Teddy. We’ll see what happens.