Organized by leftist political groups in the Venice region, the demonstration began early Saturday afternoon (30), a few kilometers from the event
Thousands of people protested this Saturday (30) to denounce the actions of the Israeli Army in the margin of the Venice Film Festival. Organized by leftist political groups in the Venice region, the demonstration began early in the afternoon, a few kilometers from the festival, where stars such as George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Emma Stone have paraded through the red carpet in recent days.
Several artists have expressed support for the Palestinians in recent days at the show, such as Moroccan director Maryam Touchani and her husband, filmmaker Nabil Ayouch, who displayed a poster with the phrase “Stop The Genocide in Gaza” (“Stop Genocide in Gaza”) on Friday (29) at the red carpet.
On Thursday (28), Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos used a brooch with the colors of the Palestinian flag during the press conference of his feature film “Bugonia”.
At the beginning of the festival, a collective founded by 10 Independent Italian filmmakers, called ‘Venice4Palestine’ (V4P), appealed by condemnation of the War in the Gaza Strip, triggered by the attack of the terrorist group Hamas A on October 7, 2023. In an open letter, the collective asked that the festival does not turn “a sad and empty podium” and a clear position ” ambiguities ”.
The V4P states that its letter brought together 2,000 signatures, including prominent international cinema names such as Guillermo Del Toro, Todd Fields, Michael Moore and Ken Loach. “The purpose of the letter was to put Gaza and Palestine in the center of public care in Venice and that is what happened,” he told the AFP Fabiomossimo Lozzi, one of the founders of the collective.
The exhibition director, Alberto Barbera, responded on the opening day of the festival that “the Biennial does not adopt direct political positions,” but declared himself sensitive to the dramatic situation in Gaza.
Next Wednesday (3), the Venice show will feature “The Voice of Hind Rajab”, directed by Franco-Tunisian Kaouther Ben Hania. The film tells the real story of a Palestinian girl murdered in January 2024 by the Israeli forces alongside six relatives when the family was trying to escape the city of Gaza. The recording of the connection in which Hind Rajab asked for help, used in the film, caused great commotion around the world when it was released.
*With information from AFP
Posted by Nicolas Robert
