Venice Film Festival: Directors and Hollywood stars renew support for Palestine
Palestine has once again become a prominent issue at the Venice Film Festival, with filmmakers, actors and activists continuing to show their support throughout the event. About 1,000 figures from the film and culture industries have now backed an appeal from the Venice4Palestine collective, calling on organisers to take “concrete action in support of Palestine”. The open letter, issued before…
The Venice Film Festival commenced with filmmakers, actors, and activists renewing their support for Palestine. Approximately 1,000 industry professionals endorsed an appeal from the Venice4Palestine collective, urging organizers to take "concrete action in support of Palestine." This plea follows a similar call made last year at the 2025 event.
Notable figures like Nobel Prize-winning writer Annie Ernaux, musician Roger Waters, actors Guy Pearce and Indya Moore, and filmmaker Celine Sciamma have signed the open letter. The collective also requests the Palestinian flag to be flown throughout the festival, a demand Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera stated cannot be fulfilled due to Italy's requirement for officially recognized state flags only.
Two Palestinian films are featured this year: Ahmed Hassouna's Citizen Osama, a story of a photographer balancing fatherhood and journalism amidst Gaza's war, and Muayad Alayan's drama Conversation with the Sea, set in Jerusalem about a Palestinian man entangled in Israeli bureaucracy.
The letter also calls for greater transparency in the film industry and halts of agreements with entities connected to the Israeli government. Venice4Palestine has since renewed its demand for the Palestinian flag to be flown for the remainder of the festival.
A sailboat bearing the Palestinian flag arrived at the Venice Lido on Monday, greeted by activists waving flags and chanting pro-Palestinian slogans. Venice4Palestine sees this as a symbolic show of support for Palestinian filmmakers and films in the current selection.
Actresses Ramy Youssef and Hiam Abbass are among those backing the Gaza Cinema Academy, an initiative launched at the festival to provide film education in Gaza and help young filmmakers develop, produce, and screen their work globally. Co-founded by Palestinian directors Ezzaldeen Shalh and Mai Masri, the academy plans to expand to include a filmmaking degree accredited by Al Quds Open University.
Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon revealed she continues to lose film roles due to her vocal support for Palestine. Despite agencies discouraging her from being hired, Sarandon believes public attitudes are changing, though she still faces resistance within the film industry.
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