Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera says guests will not be disinvited from the festival because of their political views, as the topic of t
Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera says guests will not be disinvited from the festival because of their political views, as the topic of the ongoing war in Gaza takes hold on the festival’s first day.
“The position of the Biennale is at one hand we are an Italian cultural institution, a place of openness and debate that does not censor anybody,” said Barbera at the press conference for the heads of the official competition juries. “We’ve been asked to turn down invitations to artists – we will not do that, if they want to be here they will be here.”
Activist collective Venice4Palestine had called for the festival to disinvite In The Hand Of Dante stars Gal Gadot and Gerard Butler for what the collective perceives as the actors’ support for the Israel government which is conducting the military campaign in Gaza.
“On the other hand we have never hesitated to clearly declare our huge sadness and suffering vis a vis what is happening in Gaza and Palestine,” continued Barbera. “The death of civilians and especially children who are victims – they are the collateral damage of a war nobody has been able to terminate yet.”
“There are no doubts as regards the position of the Biennale on this. That is all I will say.” Barbera then requested that the conversation move on from the topic of Gaza.
The issue is set to dominate the opening days of the festival, with a petite demonstration in front of the red carpet from the Venice4Palestine group this morning and a larger march planned for Saturday (August 30).
Teona Strugar Mitevska, director of Horizons opening film Mother about Mother Teresa, is one of over 1,500 signatories to Venice4Palestine’s open letter to the festival, calling for the event to take “a clear and unambiguous stand condemning the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the ethnic cleansing across Palestine carried out by the Israeli government and army”.
Speaking at the press conference for her film, Mitevska expressed her regret she will have left Venice before Saturday’s march. “I can’t tell the festival [what to do about Gaza],” said Mitevska. “I can tell you what Mother Teresa would do. She would be there under the fire, taking care of things.
“We live in such a strange world, so much violence. We are like prisoners of capitalism, egoism and me, me, me. What about humanity? What about doing and giving? Let’s do and give.”
The festival will open this evening with the world premiere of Paolo Sorrentino’s La Grazia (Grace) for which Mubi is handling distribution on the film in territories including the US and UK-Ireland. The company has been criticised for taking a $100m investment from US-based Sequoia Capital that also invests in an Israeli defence technology firm Kela.
Sorrentino declined to answer questions about Mubi in the Grace press conference. Similarly, jury president Alexander Payne had earlier also declined to discuss the situation in Gaza, saying “I’m unprepared for that question.”
“My political views, I’m sure, are in agreement with many of yours,” said Payne. “I’m here to judge and talk about cinema.” Payne also said that questions about the festival’s position on Gaza would be better put to Barbera.
He did talk about the decline of cinemagoing and rise of streaming platforms, and the subsequent impact on the cultural footprint of films.
“I lament that many great movies, both of artistic and political importance, don’t become part of a larger conversation – certainly part of the cinematic conversation – because of the means of distribution,” said Payne, who admitted that he watches “a lot of movies at night on my stomach” but prefers “to see them projected in the cathedral of cinema.”
“Can a film change society and culture?” said Payne. “I don’t know, it’s doubtful. But at least when we make films that are relevant to the times, we leave a document.”
Venice runs until Saturday, September 6.
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