Many different factors have made the war in Gaza Top of Mind during the opening day for the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, in a way that jury president Alexander Payne has not yet processed.
During the opening conference, the Oscar-winning filmmaker immediately met with questions referring to a Recent open letter signed by mostly Italian directors urges the Venice Film Festival and the organizations associated with it to take a more active pro-Palestinian attitude.
On the question specifically about the would sign the letter, in the same way as jury president Juliette Binoche signed a similar open letter During the Cannes Film Festival in May 2025, Payne said: “Honestly, I feel a little unprepared for that question. I’m here to judge and talk about film.”
“Holdovers” author/director tried to clarify his attitude to the war in Gaza and said: “My political views I am sure many of your,” gesture against the audience of the journalists. “But when it comes to my relationship with the festival and what the industry does, I have to think about it for a while to give you a measured answer.”
The festival itself responded to the letter earlier this week, through a statement that partly shared, “The Biennial and the Festival has always been, through its history, places for open discussion and sensitivity to all the most pressing issues that society and the world are facing.” The festival quotes programming Oscar-nominated Kaouther Ben Hania’s new movie “The Voice of Hind Rajab”, about a 6-year-old girl left stranded in a car after it was attacked by Israeli forces, as an example of it.
Binoche itself avoided a similar question About the open letter in Cannes and says, “Can’t answer you. … you may understand it a little later.” In addition, Venice’s opening day coincided with the announcement that the above -mentioned competition title “The Voice of Hind Rajab” has added an all-star assortment of executive producers Including Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment, Oscar-winning directors Alfonso Cuarón and Jonathan Glazer and award-winning actors Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara.
The morning of day one of the Venice Film Festival 2025 also saw a Protest on the red carpetwith banners who read “Free Palestine. Stop the genocide” and a speech that revealed how it will be a pro-Palestinian march that happens on Satuday, August 30, the fourth day of the festival. The conversation around the festival and the industry’s response to the crisis in Gaza shows small signs of stopping, even when premiere premieres try to catch attention.
