Because of Israel? The unusual move by the Venice Film Festival
The press conference of the jury at the Venice Film Festival has been canceled, with the official reason given by the organizers being a "scheduling conflict." However, the cancellation comes against the backdrop of a series of press conferences at major festivals where, in recent years, judges and creators have been asked repeatedly about the war in Gaza.
It has already become a familiar sight at major festivals: press conferences that begin with questions about the work and very quickly reach questions about the war in Gaza, even when there is no connection between the two. At the Berlin Film Festival this year, for example, jury president Wim Wenders was asked about the war and replied that filmmakers should stay out of politics. And at the Venice Film Festival last year, jury president Alexander Payne admitted that he was not prepared for questions about Gaza after political issues took over the press conference.
Now, ahead of the opening of the Venice Film Festival next week, it has been learned that the festival has canceled the traditional press conference of the main jury. This unusual step raises the question of whether the festival feared that the event would once again become a political arena, but the festival denies this and claims that it is a scheduling conflict.
Heading the international jury of the Venice Film Festival this year will be the Jewish-American actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, alongside Tunisian director and screenwriter Kaouther Ben Hania, English composer and artist Daniel Blumberg, Italian professor Francesco Casetti, French director and screenwriter Xavier Giannoli, Afghan director and screenwriter Shahrbanoo Sadat, and director and producer from Hong Kong Johnnie To.
Despite the attempt to avoid politics, it is hard to see how it will not reach the festival this year as well: the artistic program recently added NAZA (Collateral Damage) — a new documentary film that describes, according to its synopsis, the systematic systems behind the mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. The film was directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, two of the four directors of No Other Land, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature in 2025.
In addition, an open letter was published this week calling on the Venice Biennale and the film festival to take concrete action in support of Palestine. Among the hundreds of signatories are Pink Floyd founder Roger Waters and Nobel Prize-winning author Annie Ernaux. The letter, on behalf of Venice4Palestine, includes a series of demands:
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Greater transparency in the film industry
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The suspension of agreements with organizations and institutions linked to the Israeli government
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The protection of professionals who choose to sever such ties
This year, activists also called for the Palestinian flag to be flown throughout the festival, against the backdrop of the participation in the official selection of two Palestinian films: Citizen Osama by Ahmed Hassouna and Conversation with the Sea by Muayad Alayan. Alongside this, this year's program also includes Amos Gitai's Journey to Jericho and, as mentioned, NAZA by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. According to the Deadline website, the Venice Film Festival and the Venice Biennale have not published an official position regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to date, and present themselves as bodies that do not take a political stance in the selection of films and invited creators.
