Stars Demand Action: Roger Waters and Nobel Laureates Pressure Venice Film Festival Over Palestine Stance
A new open letter, signed by prominent cultural figures including Annie Ernaux and Roger Waters, urges the Venice Film Festival to support Palestine, specifically calling for the Palestinian flag to be flown and highlighting two Palestinian films in competition. This initiative by Venice4Palestine is set against the backdrop of the festival's history of addressing political controversies, with a new documentary about Gaza also added to the lineup.
An open letter, signed by prominent figures including Nobel Prize-winning writer Annie Ernaux, Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters, and directors Isabel Coixet and Matteo Garrone, has been issued calling for the Venice Film Festival to take concrete action in support of Palestine. The letter, released on Friday, originates from the Venice4Palestine collective, which had previously launched a similar initiative last year. That earlier appeal included more specific demands, such as urging the festival's organizers to withdraw invitations to Gerard Butler and Gal Gadot due to their past support for Israel. This year, Venice4Palestine reiterates its call to the Venice Biennale, the Venice International Film Festival, and professionals across the film, audiovisual, and cultural sectors to act in solidarity with Palestine.
Among the key requests in the Venice4Palestine letter is the call for the Palestinian flag to be flown throughout the festival. This gesture aims to highlight the presence of two Palestinian films in the event’s official selection. These include Ahmed Hassouna’s “Citizen Osama,” which chronicles a photographer's struggle to balance his roles as a father and a journalist while documenting the realities of war in Gaza, and Muayad Alayan’s “Conversation with the Sea,” a narrative about a 60-year-old Palestinian man named Kamal who navigates the complexities of Israeli bureaucracy. The Venice Film Festival has not yet provided an immediate comment regarding the letter.
Historically, the Venice Film Festival has not shied away from political controversies or from featuring films that depict the plight of Palestinians. Last year, Kaouther Ben Hania’s Gaza-set film, “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” garnered the Silver Lion award after receiving a remarkable 22-minute standing ovation, marking it as the longest at the festival. This demonstrates a precedent for engaging with politically charged content and narratives from the region.
Further intensifying the political discussions expected at the festival, a new hot-button documentary titled “NAZA,” from “No Other Land” directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, was recently added to the Venice competition lineup on Monday. Shot at night on the rooftops of Tel Aviv, the documentary's official synopsis states that it will meticulously detail “the systems behind Israel’s calculated mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.” This film is anticipated to generate considerable political debate and scrutiny.
The list of signatories to the Venice4Palestine letter also includes notable personalities such as Nan Goldin, Paul Laverty, Teona Strugar Mitevska, Saleh Bakri, Céline Sciamma, and Italian actors Anna Foglietta, Fabrizio Gifuni, Greta Scarano, Jasmine Trinca, and Luigi Lo Cascio. The collective has also announced a panel discussion, “And Yet Gaza Continues to Burn – What Is the Point of Seeing if We Do Not Act?,” which will be held under the aegis of Giornate degli Autori (Venice Days), a separately run section of the festival. This panel, scheduled for September 8, will feature international law experts and representatives from the Global Sumud Flotilla group, known for its efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea. The 83rd Venice Film Festival is set to run from September 2 to 12.