28/08/2026
VENICE4PALESTINE: NEW CALL TO ACTION AT THE VENICE FILM FESTIVAL
One year after its initial appeal, Venice4Palestine is once again addressing the Venice Biennale, the Venice International Film Festival, and professionals across the film, audiovisual, and cultural sectors, calling for concrete new actions in support of Palestine. Their demands include transparency throughout the film industry supply chain and the suspension of agreements with entities and institutions linked to the Israeli government; the creation of safeguards for professionals who choose to disassociate themselves from such ties; and the display of the Palestinian flag for the duration of the Festival—marking the official selection of two Palestinian films: *Al Mowaten Osama* by Ahmed Hassouna and *Hiwar ma’ albahr* by Muayad Alayan.
Early signatories of the appeal include Nobel Prize winner Annie Ernaux, Roger Waters, Saleh Bakri, Matteo Garrone, Anna Foglietta, Fabrizio Gifuni, Greta Scarano, Jasmine Trinca, Luigi Lo Cascio, Isabel Coixet, Nan Goldin, Paul Laverty, Teona Strugar Mitevska, and Céline Sciamma, alongside numerous other figures from the international film and cultural communities.
The appeal is also supported by various Italian and international associations and collectives, including Global Sumud Flotilla, BDS Italia, Artists for Palestine Italia and France, FRACBI (French Coordination for the Academic, Cultural, and Sports Boycott of Israel), Artisti , AMLETA, UICD (Italian Union of Casting Directors), and Voci per la Palestina. The collective also invites film and audiovisual workers to attend the panel “And Yet Gaza Keeps Burning—What Is the Point of Watching If We Don’t Act?”—scheduled for Tuesday, September 8, at 5:30 PM at the Casa degli Autori as part of the Giornatedegli Autori—featuring experts in international law, the Global Sumud Flotilla, and USB Mare e Porti/CALP Genoa, to jointly develop legal and contractual tools to reject complicity.
INTEGRAL APPEAL FOLLOWS:
TO THE VENICE BIENNALE
THE VENICE FILM FESTIVAL
ALL FILM, MEDIA AND CULTURE WORKERS
AND YET GAZA KEEPS BURNING
A year has passed…
A year ago, thousands of people answered the call from Venice4Palestine to place Palestine in the spotlight at the Film Festival and bring the Palestinian people's resistance to the center of public discourse: finally, there was open talk of genocide rather than war. While we urged the Biennale and the Festival to take a clear stand and called on film workers to express their solidarity, the screening of *Sawt Hind Rajab* (The Voice of Hind Rajab) during the festival seemed to suddenly embody those demands, sparking a collective outpouring of emotion and outrage. In the days and weeks that followed—as part of the wave of popular consciousness that had emerged—millions of us took to the streets and to the seas in solidarity with the Palestinian people. A surge of participation gave us hope that, together, we could help stop the genocide.
Instead, a "new normal" has taken hold—aided by a sham ceasefire. Israel has not only failed to stop but has continued its atrocities, expanding its firepower toward the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon, and Iran. Nothing has changed for the Palestinian people, and the tears we have shed over a film are not enough to absolve us; rather, they are proof that we are failing to harness our collective agency with sufficient strength.
Palestine reminds us that "another world is possible."
Twenty-five years ago, we experienced the collective trauma of Genoa 2001. We witnessed one of the most severe suspensions of democracy. Expressions of dissent were silenced with unspeakable violence—a slaughter deliberately staged as a demonstration of power, intended to imprint a specific directive on our collective memory for the future: remembering the bloodshed in order to forget the ideas expressed by a global community to change the world. We see the results of that vast laboratory of repression increasingly at work today in Italy and in many other states that claim to be democratic. The oppressive bullying of our governments, the repressive actions of their armed forces, our freedom being increasingly eroded by new security laws, and the false narratives spread by complicit media form a wall against which demands for justice, equity, and reciprocity are shattered. Yet, however tragic and bitter it may seem, the Palestinian resistance has reconnected us with the idea that “another world is possible.” The Palestinian people continue to resist and create, to recount the reality of the present at the risk of their lives, to preserve memory, and to nurture the possibility of a different, more just tomorrow: we have a duty to embrace and put this lesson into practice. Militarized cities and unconstitutional laws that criminalize dissent betray the fear felt by a dehumanizing system when confronted with the strength of a conscious and determined collective. We must not, therefore, let these reprisals paralyze or divide us. The intensification of repression is proof that our actions are having an impact. We must, therefore, persist.
It has already happened. It is happening now.
Dockworkers are blocking arms shipments, asserting their right to conscientious objection as a safeguard against baseless accusations and disciplinary measures. At the Venice Art Biennale—thanks in part to the efforts of ANGA (Art Not Genocide Alliance)—the international jury resigned en masse, and workers protested the opening of the Israeli pavilion, staging a strike for the first time in the institution's history. In international waters, the Global Sumud Flotilla challenged the Israeli siege, turning solidarity into concrete action and thus forcing a criminal state into revealing its true face. These fights are all moving in the same direction: a refusal to be cogs in the machinery of normalization.
A call to the Mostra and to our colleagues:
As workers in the film, audiovisual and cultural sectors, we believe it is time to organize collective action to make a concrete impact on the mechanisms of complicity and normalization.
1- Trace the supply chain, break the complicity
Like all sectors of the arts and culture, the film industry is composed of various segments in the production and distribution chain: financing, co-productions, distribution agreements, sales, festivals and retrospectives as well as partnerships with festivals and sponsors. Each of these links can contribute to normalizing the barbarity currently being unleashed, or it can oppose it and stop it. We must therefore demand transparency at every stage of this chain and suspend all agreements with entities and institutions linked to the Israeli government. The exceptional nature of the historical moment we are living through compels us to isolate Israel diplomatically, culturally, and economically. Boycotting—as a tool to pressure institutions and as a form of resistance (in response to the 2005 call issued by Palestinian civil society via PACBI and BDS)—does not target identity as such but rather targets the very mechanisms of complicity. This will continue until the Israeli government complies with international law and accepts the three main conditions requested by BDS:
- ending the occupation and colonisation of Palestine;
- recognizing the fundamental rights of Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel;
- respecting the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their properties, as established by United Nations Resolution 194.
2- From awareness to shared practice
We call upon all individuals and organizations within the film, media, and cultural sectors to unite and build a support framework that protects workers from the professional risks associated with taking a concrete stand against genocide—thereby breaking the threat to their livelihoods that currently discourages dissent.
Stemming from the need for collective action, we have worked with a legal team to develop a tool enabling any film worker to disassociate themselves from complicity in the crimes Israel continues to commit with impunity. This document integrates the Italian Constitution, international law, and copyright law; it responds to the recent controversy surrounding the Italian film retrospective in Israel and addresses the sense of powerlessness expressed by the participating auteurs in relation to the management and exploitation of their works and their public image.
3- Palestine Must Not Be Forgotten
To honor the presence of the two Palestinian films—*Al Mowaten Osama* by Ahmed Hassouna and *Hiwar ma’ albahr* by Muayad Alayan—we call upon the Festival to fly the Palestinian flag alongside those representing all the other films in the official selection for the duration of the event. This follows standard practice and aligns with the Festival’s own official communications.
Last year, we emphasized the need to highlight the voices of Palestinian artists during the Festival’s opening and closing ceremonies. The Biennale presidency and the Festival’s artistic direction responded to this request—not by actually providing a platform for Palestinian voices, but by inviting individuals working in Palestine who could bear witness to unfolding events. Recent statements by Cardinal Pizzaballa—who shared his testimony on the Festival stage a year ago—compel us to request, with even greater urgency, that this testimony be renewed this year, in order to amplify the voice of those standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people and continuing to witness the relentless destruction that the European Union and its member states still refuse to oppose.
Finally, we urge all film and cultural workers to continue—by any means available—bringing Palestine into the Festival’s spotlight and to the center of public discourse. We invite everyone to our panel "AND YET GAZA KEEPS BURNING" (*Eppure Gaza continua a bruciare*), to be held on Tuesday September 8, at 5:30 PM at the Casa degli Autori (Via Pietro Buratti 1, Lido di Venezia), where we will be hosted by Giornate degli Autori. There, alongside our legal team, we will present the document we are currently drafting and engage in dialogue with activists from PACBI, BDS, Global Sumud Flotilla, CALP USB, ANGA, and the Gaza International Festival for Women's Cinema to collectively forge new paths for concrete action.
GAZA KEEPS BURNING: WHAT IS THE POINT OF WATCHING, IF IT DOESN’T LEAD TO ACTION?
You may add your name to this appeal by going to our website:
https://cryptpad.fr/form/ #/2/form/view/g68i6HvBxeY8oTlSq94LleykGda8pF4tWnCWO9SXjKM/
or by writing an email to:
[email protected]
SIGNATORIES
Annie Ernaux - scrittrice Premio Nobel (Francia)
Roger Waters - musicista (Regno Unito)
Saleh Bakri - attore (Palestina)
Yanis Varoufakis - professore, ex ministro (Grecia)
Matteo Garrone - regista (Italia)
Fabrizio Gifuni - attore e regista teatrale (Italia)
Anna Foglietta - attrice e regista (Italia)
Laura Morante - attrice (Italia)
Luigi Lo Cascio - attore (Italia)
Sergio Rubini - attore e regista (Italia)
Greta Scarano - attrice, regista e madrina della 83esima Mostra del Cinema (Italia)
Moni Ovadia - musicista (Italia)
Tomaso Montanari - storico dell’arte, saggista, rettore presso l'Università per stranieri di Siena (Italia)
Ascanio Celestini - attore, regista e drammaturgo (Italia)
Guy Pearce - attore (Regno Unito)
Jasmine Trinca - attrice (Italia)
Céline Sciamma - regista, sceneggiatrice (Francia)
Andrea Occhipinti - produttore e distributore (Italia)
Lino Musella - attore, regista (Italia)
Tecla Insolia - attrice (Italia)
Nan Goldin - artista fotografa e attivista (USA)
Isabel Coixet - regista e sceneggiatrice (Spagna)
Paul Laverty - sceneggiatore (Regno Unito)
Adèle Haenel - attrice, autrice (Francia)
Teona Strugar Mitevska - filmmaker (Macedonia del Nord)
Benedikt Erlingsson - regista, sceneggiatore (Islanda)
Igor Bezinović regista (Croazia)
Sonia Bergamasco - attrice e regista (Italia)
Alessio Boni - attore e regista teatrale (Italia)
Antonietta De Lillo - regista (Italia)
Pino Arlacchi - sociologo - ex sottosegretario ONU (Italia)
Silvia Scola - autrice e sceneggiatrice (Italia)
Arab Nasser - regista (Palestina)
Tarzan Nasser - regista (Palestina)
Eyal Sivan - filmmaker (Israele - Francia)
Motaz Malhees, attore (Palestina)
Dalia Ismail - giornalista (Palestina)
Indya Moore - attrice e attivista (USA)
Paola Caridi - saggista e giornalista (Italia)
Raffaele Oriani - giornalista, scrittore (Italia)
Giacomo Durzi - sceneggiatore (Italia)
Giulia Minoli - scrittrice e attivista una nessuna centomila (Italia)
Monica Maurer - regista (Italia)
Vincenzo Vita - presidente Aamod (Italia)
Stefania Brai - giornalista (Italia)
Insaf Rezagui - ricercatrice associata presso l’Institut français du Proche-Orient (Algeria-Francia)
Sbeih Sbeih - sociologo (Palestina-Francia)
Paolo Briguglia - attore (Italia)
Claudio Noce - regista (Italia)
Manuela Mandracchia - attrice (Italia)
Paola Freddi - montatrice (Italia)
Sara Petraglia - regista (Italia)
Stefano Sardo - produttore, regista e sceneggiatore (Italia)
Francesca Fornario - giornalista (Italia)
Fausto Paravidino - attore, drammaturgo (Italia)
Pietro Sermonti - attore (Italia)
Maria Grazia Calandrone - scrittrice (Italia)
Paola Minaccioni - attrice (Italia)
Dalal Suleiman - attrice (Italia)
Veronica Pivetti - attrice (Italia)
Michela Occhipinti - regista (Italia)
Céline Salette - attrice, regista (Francia)
Marco Simon Puccioni - regista (Italia)
Anna Di Francisca - regista (Italia)
Paolo Spina - produttore (Italia)
Christian Carmosino Mereu - regista (Italia)
Mariano Lamberti - regista (Italia)
Daniela Giordano - attrice (Italia)
Marco Bonini - attore (Italia)
Daniela Poggi - attrice (Italia)
Gabriella Gallozzi - direttrice Bookciak Magazine (Italia)
Carmine Amoroso - regista e sceneggiatore (Italia)
Daniele Coluccini - regista e produttore (Italia)
Alessio Maria Federici - regista (Italia)
Federico Greco - filmmaker (Italia)
Emanuele Gerosa - regista (Italia)
Ivan Gergolet - regista (Italia)
Raquel Schefer - programmatrice, cineasta e ricercatrice (Portogallo)
Agata Iacono - sociologa, antropologa, giornalista (Italia)
Gabriele Guzzi - docente universitario e presidente L’Indispensabile (Italia)
Paolo Cornetti - redattore La Fionda (Italia)
Nello Preterossi - ordinario di Filosofia del diritto (Italia)
Alessandro Somma - ordinario di Diritto comparato (Italia)
Giulio Di Donato - caporedattore La fionda (Italia)
Thomas Fazi - giornalista e saggista (Italia)
Francesco Bolo Rossini - attore (Italia)
Deborah Zuin - attrice (Italia)
Stefano Scherini - attore (Italia)
Sonia Barbadoro - attrice (Italia)
Giorgio Lupano - attore (Italia)
Francesca Ciocchetti - attrice (Italia)
Laura Nardi - attrice (Italia)
Marina Remi - attrice (Italia)
Cristian Giammarini - attore (Italia)
Aurora Palandrani - direttrice Premio Zavattini (Italia)
Benedetta Buccellato - attrice (Italia)
Diego De Santis - fonico (Italia)
Nan van Houte - Cultural Boycott Israel (Paesi Bassi / Belgio)
Sruti Bala - Cultural Boycott Israel (Paesi Bassi / Belgio)
Giovanna Scardoni - drammaturga e regista teatrale (Italia)
Tony Allotta - performer e mediatore (Italia)
Milena Fiore -responsabile tecnica e montatrice Aamod (Italia)
Marco Dentici - regista e scenografo (Italia)
Alia Shawkat - attrice (USA)
Ezzadeen Shalh - presidente Gaza International Festival for Women’s cinema (Palestina)
Marco Pozzi - regista (Italia)
Cristina Pasqua - scrittrice (Italia)
Dror Warschawski - ricercatore Sorbonne Université (Francia)
Giovanni Greco - autore e regista (Italia)
Mirco Rocchi - scenografo (Italia)
Andrea Gropplero di Troppenburg - regista (Italia)
Giovanni Alfieri - attore (Italia)
Federica Alderighi - produttrice (Italia)
Maria Teresa De Vito - regista (Italia)
Maud Wyler - attrice (Francia)
Hervé Loichemol - regista (Francia)
Claudio Casazza - regista (Italia)
Beppe Leonetti - montatore (Italia)
Fabiomassimo Lozzi - regista e sceneggiatore (Italia)
Mazzino Montinari - selezionatore festival e critico (Italia)
Valentina Pellitteri - filmmaker (Italia)
Patrizia Roletti - produttrice (Italia)
Marisella Rossetti- festival ( Belgio)
Silvia Pegah Scaglione - attrice e regista teatrale (Italia)
Giorgia Villa - montatrice (Italia)
Amleta
Artistes pour la Palestine (Francia)
Artisti
Artists for Palestine Italia
Associazione Calipso
BDS Italia
CRED (Centro di Ricerca ed Elaborazione per la Democrazia)
FRACBI Coordinamento francese del boicottaggio universitario, culturale e sportivo di Israele (Francia)
Global Sumud Italia
La Fionda (rivista di politica e cultura)
Liberə Cittadinə per la Palestina
Collettivo Occhi Sulla Palestina
Patria e Costituzione
Postmodernissimo Perugia
Rete
UICD - Unione Italiana Casting Directors
Voci per la Palestina