Ottawa (AFP)

Cinema is being "relegated to the background and devalued" during the coronavirus pandemic, warned American director Martin Scorsese during a virtual presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival.

“The fact that film festivals continue to take place - improvise, adapt, make everything work one way or another - is very emotional for me,” said the filmmaker. Oscar winner "Goodfellas".

"Because in the press and popular culture, it is unfortunately more and more frequent to see cinema relegated to the background and devalued, finding itself classified in a category that looks like a small comforting dish," he said. developed.

The director of films as legendary as "Taxi Driver", "Raging Bull" or "Casino" welcomed the fact that the Toronto festival could be held in the midst of a pandemic, even in a reduced and largely virtual format.

He spoke in a short video introducing the "Tribute Actor Awards" ceremony, which recognizes comedians, directors and directors and other film professionals for their exceptional contribution to the seventh art.

- "More than a distraction" -

In recent months, millions of people around the world have been confined, watching movies from their living rooms.

In the United States, the country most affected by the pandemic, cinemas in New York and Los Angeles have still not been able to reopen.

"This remarkable art form has always been and always will be much more than a distraction," said Martin Scorsese.

"Cinema, at its best, is a source of wonder and inspiration".

The filmmaker was controversial last year by declaring that the Marvel feature films, dedicated to the world of superheroes, were "not cinema" and were more akin to an "amusement park".

Martin Scorsese had lamented in a column at the New York Times that Marvel productions are eclipsing the cinema of authors in theaters.

Marvel films are "devoid of something that is essential to cinema: the individual vision of an artist," he wrote.

Actors Anthony Hopkins and Kate Winslet were honored at the ceremony in Toronto, where both were promoting new films that could earn them an Oscar afterwards.

The 44-year-old British actress said her role as a paleontologist in Francis Lee's "Ammonite", a love story between two women set in the late 19th century, was a "gift".

"I like to play roles that make me feel terrified and roles that make me feel incredible joy," she explained, from her home in the UK.

Kate Winslet also expressed her hope for "returning to a healthier reality which will hopefully leave enough space for an abundance of compassion, gratitude, kindness and respect for one another and the rest. of humanity".

Anthony Hopkins, 82, starring French playwright Florian Zeller's dementia film "The Father", described the work as "deeply intense and deeply disturbing".

Chloé Zhao, a 38-year-old Chinese-American director who recently won the Golden Lion in Venice for "Nomadland", was also honored for her work.

Running since last Thursday, the Toronto International Film Festival, North America's largest celebration of the 7th art, will end on Sunday.

© 2020 AFP