Hundreds of artists urge Venice Festival to take stance on Gaza in open letter

Hundreds of Italian and international cinema professionals have signed an open letter, calling on the Venice Film Festival, opening Wednesday, to acknowledge the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The signatories-who include world-famous filmmakers such as Matteo Garrone, Abel Ferrara and Ken Loach-have gathered under the banner of V4P (Venice4Palestine).

In the long open letter, they urged the Venice Film Festival and its parent body, the Biennale, "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."

"Stop the clocks, turn off the stars," read the opening paragraph of the letter, which encourages the festival to avoid becoming "a sad and empty showcase" by instead providing "a place of dialogue, active participation, and resistance, as it has been in the past.

Signatories also include Palestinian directorial duo Arab Nasser and Tarzan Nasser, who won best director in Cannes Un Certain Regard earlier this year for their latest film "Once Upon a Time in Gaza."

The 82nd Venice Film Festival will begin on Wednesday.

The Biennale responded to the artists' open letter with a statement saying itself and the Venice Festival "have always been, throughout their history, places of open discussion and sensitivity to all the most pressing issues facing society and the world."

The V4P letter also comes amid growing international condemnation from world leaders over Israel's ongoing military campaign in Gaza and its recent approval of a controversial settlement project in the West Bank.

Political and grassroots organizations from the Veneto region and across Italy are also promoting a large demonstration on Aug. 30 to demand "an end to the genocide in Palestine perpetrated by Israel and to denounce the complicity of Western governments."

The rally will gather at the Venice Lido on Sunday afternoon and then will head toward the Film Festival.

Israel has killed nearly 62,700 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.