{
  "id": 6279691,
  "title": "Venice Film Festival: Directors and Hollywood stars renew support for Palestine",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/08/venice-film-festival-directors-and-hollywood-stars-renew-support-for",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-08T12:20:51.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The National Business",
    "slug": "the-national-business",
    "url": "https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/film-tv/2026/09/08/venice-film-festival-opens-as-directors-and-actors-renew-support-for-palestine/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Venice Film Festival witnessed renewed support for Palestine as filmmakers, actors, and activists rallied behind an appeal from the Venice4Palestine collective. The collective urged the organisers to take concrete action in support of Palestine, a call that echoes the group's previous year appeal during the 2025 event. Notable figures such as Nobel Prize-winning writer Annie Ernaux, musician Roger Waters, and stars Guy Pearce and Indya Moore signed the open letter. The group also demanded that the Palestinian flag be flown throughout the festival, alongside other state flags, though this request was deemed unfeasible due to Italy's flag-flying regulations. Two Palestinian films, Citizen Osama and Conversation with the Sea, were slated to be shown at this year's festival. Venice4Palestine's call for greater transparency and the suspension of agreements with entities linked to the Israeli government was reiterated. The collective also welcomed the arrival of a sailboat bearing the Palestinian flag at the Venice Lido, a symbolic gesture of solidarity for Palestinian filmmakers and films featured at the festival. Celebrities like Ramy Youssef, Hiam Abbass, Susan Sarandon, and George Clooney lent their support to the cause, with Sarandon revealing that she continues to face challenges in securing roles due to her outspoken stance on the issue.",
  "summary": "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…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The National UAE",
        "title": "Venice Film Festival opens as directors and Hollywood stars renew support for Palestine",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/08/venice-film-festival-opens-as-directors-and-hollywood-stars-renew",
        "published": "2026-09-08T12:20:51.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}