Venice Film Festival Urged to Take Stand on Gaza by Waters, Pearce, and Ernaux
Roger Waters, Annie Ernaux, Guy Pearce, and other artists have signed an open letter to the Venice Film Festival demanding concrete action against what they call a genocide of Palestinians. The letter, under the Venice4Palestine banner, asks the festival to raise the Palestinian flag for its duration. This is the second such appeal, following a similar letter last year that yielded no tangible results.
The open letter, organized under the Venice4Palestine banner, marks the second appeal to the festival, following a previous letter that reportedly produced no tangible outcomes. Signatories include directors Isabel Coixet, Céline Sciamma, Matteo Garrone, and Palestinian siblings Arab and Tarzan Nasser, alongside French-Israeli director Eyan Sivan. The letter references a screening of *Sawt Hind Rajab* during last year’s festival as a moment of collective emotion, and notes that Venice4Palestine representatives will participate in a Sept. 8 panel titled “Yet Gaza Continues to Burn” on the Lido.
This appeal could intensify pressure on cultural institutions to take explicit political stances, potentially influencing how festivals balance artistic programming with geopolitical advocacy. It may affect audience perceptions of Venice’s neutrality, and could prompt other festivals to address similar demands. The involvement of high-profile artists may amplify public discourse, though the festival’s response—or lack thereof—could shape future activist strategies within the film community.