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Venice Film Festival Director Rejects Petition to Boycott Israeli Films, Insists They’re Not ‘Anti-Palestinian in Any Way’
Actor Sveva Alviti, who hosted the opening ceremony of the 81st Venice Film Festival, and director Alberto Barbera react, in Venice, Italy, on August 27, 2024. Photo: Reuters/Yara Nardi
Alberto Barbera, director of the 81st Venice Film Festival currently taking place, responded to an open letter published last week that called on the iconic film festival not to screen two Israeli films because of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
More than 300 film industry figures from around the world signed the open letter which focused its attention on “Why War” from director Amos Gitai and Dani Rosenberg’s Hebrew-language film “Al Klavim Veanashim” (“Of Dogs and Men”). In the letter, which was published by Artists for Palestine Italia on the opening of the Venice Film Festival, the signatories claimed that the two films were created by Israeli production companies “complicit in whitewashing Israel’s oppression against Palestinians” in Gaza. The filmmakers, actors, and other film industry members condemned the Venice Film Festival for its “unacceptable” and “immoral” decision to showcase the films, and expressed outrage regarding the festival’s “silence” about “Israel’s atrocities against the Palestinian people.”
“Al Klavim Veanashim” will screen at the Venice Film Festival later this week in the Orizzonti competition and “Why War” made its world premiere on Saturday out of competition.
In a recent interview with Deadline, Barbera started off by saying that like other major international film festivals, the Venice Film Festival is staying neutral when it comes to the Israel-Hamas war.
“Have you seen any major film festival ‘take a side’ in this conflict?” he asked. “We are a space open to everyone and to people with different political views. We show films that highlight different views on all sorts of issues. I don’t want to take sides and I can’t make such public statements for the festival in my role as festival director.”
Barbera was then asked to comment on those who believe there is a lack of support, particularly in Hollywood, for the plight of Palestinians living in Gaza during the current war that started in response to the Hamas terrorist attacks on Oct. 7 in southern Israel.
“I think we’ve seen many Pro-Palestinian demonstrations all over the world, but hardly any for the hostages,” he responded. “We must not forget the [Oct. 7] massacre that took place which sparked this conflict. Of course, I understand filmmakers signing a petition in support of Palestinians and the awful, painful position of the population there, especially the children. It’s hard to even think about it.”
“What [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu is doing in Gaza is a war crime, and so was October 7,” he added. “But we wouldn’t ever withdraw a film on ideological grounds. The films that were asked to be withdrawn by the 300 filmmakers are not anti-Palestinian films in any way, quite the opposite.”
Gitai, the director of “Why War,” said on Saturday that his anti-war film did not receive funding from the Israeli government and although it focuses on war, it examines the topic from a general perspective and does not mention “the intoxicated Israeli-Palestinian relationship.”
The 81st Venice Film Festival runs from Aug. 28-Sept. 7.
The post Venice Film Festival Director Rejects Petition to Boycott Israeli Films, Insists They’re Not ‘Anti-Palestinian in Any Way’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.