Venice Axes Jury Press Conference Amid Pressure to Spotlight Israel-Gaza War

The Venice International Film Festival has decided not to hold a traditional jury press conference this year, according to Deadline. The festival, which usually begins with a panel where jurors are available to press inquiries, will instead feature Maggie Gyllenhaal as jury chair alongside Kaouther Ben Hania, Daniel Blumberg, Francesco Casetti, Xavier Giannoli, Shahrbanoo Sadat, and Johnnie To.

The decision to skip the panel comes amid an open letter from the group Venice4Palestine, which has gathered over 200 signatures from film industry figures. The letter, titled "Yet Gaza Continues to Burn," urges the festival to focus on Palestine and include the Palestinian flag among those hoisted at the festival's site. The letter also calls for transparency in the festival's supply chain, suspends agreements with entities linked to the Israeli government, and creates a protection structure for workers in the sector.

The festival has denied the decision was politically motivated, attributing it to a "scheduling conflict" instead. The move to forgo a jury press conference follows incidents where past festival presidents, such as Alexander Payne at Venice and Wim Wenders at Berlinale, declined to address questions about the Israel-Palestine conflict.