Hundreds of cinema professionals, led by prominent Italian and international filmmakers, have signed an open letter under the banner Venice4Palestine (V4P), calling on the Venice Film Festival to take a public stance on the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
A Call for Courage and Clarity
The letter, addressed to the Venice Film Festival, its parent body the Biennale, and parallel sections Venice Days and International Critics’ Week, urges organizers “to be more courageous and clear in condemning the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the ethnic cleansing across Palestine carried out by the Israeli government and army.”
The signatories write:
“For almost two years now, images of unmistakable clarity have been reaching us from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Incredulous and helpless, we keep witnessing the torment of a genocide carried out live by the State of Israel in Palestine. No one will ever be able to say: ‘I couldn’t know, I couldn’t imagine, I couldn’t believe’.”
High-Profile Signatories
The V4P letter has been signed by major figures in global cinema, including:
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Marco Bellocchio, Alba Rohrwacher, Matteo Garrone (Italy)
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Audrey Diwan, Golden Lion winner for Happening (France)
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Swann Arlaud, actor (Anatomy of a Fall)
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Kostantin Bojanov, director (The Shameless)
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Laura Bispuri, director (The Peacock’s Paradise)
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Sepideh Farsi, Iranian-French filmmaker (Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk)
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Charles Dance, UK actor
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Laetitia Dosch, French-Swiss director-actor (Dog on Trial)
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Arab & Tarzan Nasser, Palestinian directors, Best Director winners at Cannes Un Certain Regard for Once Upon a Time in Gaza
Context and Humanitarian Crisis
The letter arrives as the 82nd Venice Film Festival (opening August 27) coincides with escalating international concern over Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
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The war, sparked by the October 7 Hamas attacks that killed 1,200 and resulted in 251 hostages, has since caused at least 61,000 deaths in Gaza, according to reports.
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The UN-backed IPC this week confirmed 500,000 Gazans face famine, with 132,000 children under five at risk of acute malnutrition.
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Israel has dismissed genocide accusations as “baseless,” citing its intent to target Hamas and recover hostages.
The V4P letter emphasizes that Israel’s persecution of Palestinians predates October 7, framing it within a longer history of “ethnic cleansing, apartheid, illegal occupation, colonialism, and crimes against humanity.”
The Role of Cinema
The letter stresses the responsibility of cultural institutions like Venice to resist indifference:
“As the spotlight turns on the Venice Film Festival, we’re in danger of going through yet another major event that remains indifferent to this human, civil, and political tragedy. ‘The show must go on,’ we are told, as if the ‘film world’ had nothing to do with the ‘real world.’”
It continues:
“The Biennale and the Venice International Film Festival are supposed to celebrate the power of art as a means of transformation, testimony, representation of humanity, and development of critical consciousness.”
Global Political Backdrop
The letter comes as several Western countries — including France, Britain, Canada, and Australia — prepare to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September, amid wider condemnation of Israel’s actions and settlement expansion.
