'Unmute Us': Marchers Demand Return of Dutch Music Festivals
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‘The festival industry feels like an unwanted child’ ‘Unmute us’: Marchers demand return of Dutch music festivals AMSTERDAM, Aug 22, (AP): Dutch music fans have been banned They point to overseas events and the return of crowds to soccer running because of the pandemic. for months from going to large-scale festivals due to coronavirus stadiums - with proof of vaccination, recovery from COVID-19 or But the lifting of all remaining restrictions on social contact in restrictions. On Saturday, the festivals came to them. a negative test - as evidence that people can congregate in large England on July 19 has at least allowed some to take place. How- Hundreds of performers and festival organizers held marches numbers without infection numbers surging. ever, organizers of the Notting Hill Carnival in west London, which through six Dutch cities on Saturday to protest what they argue Jasper Goossen of Apenkooi Events, which organizes dance fes- is billed as Europe’s biggest street fair, decided before those restric- are unfair restrictions that have forced the cancellation of summer tivals, said hundreds of festivals have been canceled due to the pan- tions were lifted to cancel the two-day event in late August because music festivals and other events. demic, crippling an industry that employs 100,000 people. of the “ongoing uncertainty and risk” posed by COVID-19. Thousands of people attended one of the “Unmute Us” marches “There are so many passionate people working in this industry In France, festivals are allowed for people with a virus pass in Amsterdam, walking and dancing behind a convoy of trucks car- and they are all having a tough time. We want to move forward, not showing they are fully vaccinated, recently tested negative or re- rying DJs and sound systems pumping out music. stand still,” he said. cently recovered from the virus. Yet many organizers have reduced Leonie der Verkleij, a freelancer who works in hospitality ser- the maximum number of people per day. The country’s biggest fes- vices at events, was among those marching in Amsterdam. Feature tival, the Vieilles Charrues, set a limit of 5,000 spectators each day. “The festival industry feels like an unwanted child,” she said. “It Dutch organizers point to festivals in other countries that have The 7-day rolling average of daily new cases in Netherlands feels like all sectors are important except ours.” not turned into superspreader events, such as the summer’s Lol- eased slightly over the past two weeks, going from 16.45 new cases Amsterdam municipality appealed mid-afternoon for no more lapalooza music festival in Chicago. Authorities in Chicago said per 100,000 people on Aug. 6 to 15.05 new cases per 100,000 peo- people to join the march as it was too crowded. they had linked 203 COVID-19 cases to the four-day event that ple on Aug. 20. Nearly 18,000 people have died in the Netherlands Music The Dutch government has banned large-scale events such as drew 385,000 people. of COVID-19. festivals until at least Sept. 19 amid fears over the spread of the Marchers carried home-made banners reading: “Music = Medi- Melvin van Pelt, a DJ and producer who works under the name highly infectious delta variant. One-day events with a maximum of cine” and “Don’t Cancel Culture.” Tahko, said he’s worked in government testing and vaccination 750 visitors are allowed for people with a COVID-19 app showing Festivals are a traditional feature of the European summer, but centers to help pay his rent and agrees with many coronavirus they have been vaccinated, have recently tested negative or have many have been canceled or postponed this year. In England, many measures, but he’s had enough of the festival ban. recovered from a case in the past six months. of the biggest events, such as Glastonbury in southwest England “I am sick of it. I’m angry. I no longer feel represented by my Organizers of Saturday’s protest want the ban lifted on Sept. 1. and BST Hyde Park in London, were cancelled for the second year own government,” he said. Variety s e r u t a This image released by Universal Pictures shows Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in a scene from ‘Candyman,’ directed by Nia DaCosta. (AP) e Film ‘DaCosta is like an old school director’ RAPID CITY, SD: Tourist at- F Features tractions in South Dakota that appeared in the Academy Award- winning fi lm “Nomadland” are seeing an increase in visitors. Peele dares Gen Z to summon ‘Candyman’ Reptile Gardens animal park and Wall Drug Store, a sprawl- By Lindsey Bahr Peele, who co-wrote the script, and DaCosta’s “Cand- “It’s truly an examination of who we are right now ing, cowboy-themed roadside attraction, are both reporting an yman” put their subjects, a successful gallery director, in our culture and hopefully helping to move the andyman” was always more than a surface Brianna (Teyonah Parris), and her visual artist boy- needle and help it get better by going to these dark early bump in tourist traffi c, the level horror fi lm. The 1992 fi lm dealt with Rapid City Journal reported. Both ‘C friend Anthony (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), in modern spaces and unpacking the terror within, the true ter- were in “Nomadland,” which won class, race and trauma. But almost 30 years later, a day Chicago. They live in a luxury apartment in a now ror,” said Domingo. “Especially the terror that peo- best picture, best director and best new version in theaters Aug. 27 reclaims and recent- gentrifi ed Cabrini-Green. But the rot of the past lin- ple with Black and brown skin live with every day.” actress Academy Awards. ers the narrative around the Black experience. gers. A longtime resident played by Colman Domingo The fi lm was completed in late 2019 for a planned The movie follows Fern, a 60- The original fi lm took the seeds of a Clive Barker tells Anthony about the Candyman lore and soon the 2020 release but was delayed several times over the year old widow living in her van short story set in a Liverpool slum and transported it haunting and the body horror begin anew. past year because of the pandemic. Domingo said af- and taking odd jobs as she mean- to Chicago’s Cabrini-Green housing projects, where “The art world is very glitzy, glamorous and Bri- ter the last year of racial reckoning. it’s the perfect ders the American West. Badlands the Boogeyman was Black and the lens to the world National Park, Wall Drug and anna is very wealthy and lives in this amazing apart- time for the fi lm to come out. Reptile Gardens are among the was a white female doctoral student studying urban ment and Chicago’s a gorgeous city,” DaCosta said. “I think that it’s timely that it did not come out last places featured. myths. The fi lm was both praised and the subject of “I wanted to really juxtapose that beautiful, lush year, that we needed to deal with what we were deal- The fi lm is written, produced, pointed critiques from Black fi lmmakers who noted world with the horrors within.” ing with and be out on the street, raising our voices directed, and edited by Chloé the regressive racial stereotypes. Abdul-Mateen II predicts “Candyman” will be a together to fi nally having a moment to step back and MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021 Zhao, and stars Frances McDor- “There’s no question that this fi lm plays on white conversation-starter. examine again,” Domingo said. “I think we’re will- mand (who is also a producer on middle-class fears of black people,” actor-director ing to do the work now.” the fi lm) as a vandwelling working Carl Franklin told the Chicago Tribune at the time. Celebrated nomad who leaves her hometown “Candyman” will also be a breakthrough moment after her husband dies and the “It unabashedly uses racial stereotypes and destruc- “Outside of the entertainment value, there is for DaCosta, whose star is continuing to rise with sole industry closes down, to be tive myths to create shock.” an opportunity to really talk about the state of the higher profi le studio projects. “houseless” and travel around the Franklin said it was, “irresponsible and racist.” world,” Abdul-Mateen II said. “There’s a history of “She really is like an old school director,” Domin- United States. But it was also successful enough to spawn two unwanted marks becoming celebrated for reasons go said. “She knows what she wants. She’s a very, Wall Drug Store has seen sequels and proved to be a formative fi lm for a young that we don’t want to be celebrated for. This movie very elegant director. You see it in every frame of a 114% increase in sales over Jordan Peele, who saw it as a landmark for repre- deals with that and says what happens when you take this fi lm.” 2019 while year-to-date for 2020 sentation. Following the success of “Get Out,” Peele our stories back.” showed a 92% increase, said Two weeks after she wrapped “Candyman,” Da- Chairman Rick Hustead. and his Monkeypaw Productions set their sights on The themes aren’t just backdrops either. The script Costa immediately went into “The Marvels,” a se- “If it was up 10% we’d be a “Candyman” fi lm and signed up-and-coming fi lm- has characters discussing gentrifi cation and privilege.