VENICE, Italy: As the Venice Film Festival kicks off this week, activists hope to redirect the spotlight from the Hollywood stars arriving on the Lido to Gaza, with an anti-war demonstration planned for one of the festival’s biggest nights.
The group Venice4Palestine has called on the festival and its parent organization, the Venice Biennale, to end partnerships with groups supporting the Israeli government and withdraw invitations to actors Gerard Butler and Gal Gadot. On the festival’s opening day on Wednesday, protesters will hold a news conference in the morning front of the famed red carpet. Protesters also plan to march Saturday evening toward the festival, which is hosting the world premiere of Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” that night.
Filmmakers Ken Loach and Alice Rohrwacher were among the hundreds of signatories to the Venice4Palestine letter. Festival director Alberto Barbera told The Associated Press on Tuesday that while they feel for the victims in Gaza, the Biennale does not make political statements and does not boycott artists.
“We are a space for debate, for conversation,” Barbera said. “We are absolutely open to any kind of debate about this unacceptable situation in Palestine.”
Several reports suggested Gadot had dropped out of the festival following the scrutiny, but Barbera said the “Snow White” star was never planning to attend. Representatives for Gadot could not immediately be reached for comment.
Gadot and Butler are among the cast of Julian Schnabel’s film, “In the Hand of Dante,” which premieres at the festival out of competition Sept. 3.
Butler has not publicly commented on the war in Gaza but attended a Friends of the IDF Western Region Gala in 2018. Barbera said that he is still waiting to hear about Butler’s attendance. The Scottish actor’s representatives did not immediately respond to request for comment.
While the festival and the Biennale aren’t making political statements on Gaza, they are hosting the world premiere of Kaouther Ben Hania’s “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” about the death of a 6-year-old girl attempting to flee Gaza City with her family in early 2024. The film is playing in the main competition.
Last year, the festival programmed a showing in one of its sidebar sections of Israeli director Dani Rosenberg’s docudrama, “Of Dogs and Men,” about the aftermath of the Hamas 2023 attack into Israel.
“We are living in very complicated and dangerous and frightening times,” Barbera said. “And cinema reflects this kind of situation. A lot of filmmakers are so sensible to talk about these huge and dramatic problems and issues.”
On Monday, Israel struck one of the main hospitals in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 20 people including five journalists and wounding scores more. It was among the deadliest of multiple Israeli strikes that have hit both hospitals and journalists over the course of the 22-month war.
The Health Ministry said Sunday that at least 62,686 Palestinians have been killed in the war. The war began when Hamas-led militants abducted 251 hostages and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals, but 50 remain in Gaza, with around 20 believed to be alive.
Last year, facing the threat of protests, the artist and curators representing Israel at the Venice Biennale kept the Israeli pavilion exhibit closed, saying they would only open it if there were a ceasefire in Gaza.