Venice Chief Defends Late Slot for Gaza Doc NAZA — SkimNews
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- Alberto Barbera defended scheduling the Gaza documentary NAZA at the end of the Venice festival, saying he didn't want "politics to become the only topic of conversation" and overshadow other films — a pattern Deadline noted mirrors last year's late slot for "The Voice of Hind Rajab."
- Barbera revealed the Palestinian flag cannot fly alongside other nations' flags at Venice because Italy does not recognize Palestine as a state, calling the restriction "a shame" and saying he hopes Italy "will recognize it soon."
- Only two Competition films at this year's Venice are directed by women (one co-directed), down from six last year, but Barbera rejected creating a separate section for female directors, saying "it would be like a ghetto for women."
- Barbera named the Martin McDonagh film — potentially with Robert Pattinson, though "dark" — along with Lee Chang-dong's "Possible Love" and the Kore-eda film as Venice titles with potential Oscar traction.
- Barbera dismissed cost as a factor for absent U.S. studios, calling an extra $1M to bring a $300M film to Venice "a joke" and blaming the gap on films not being finished — Fincher was still shooting in August and "Social Reckoning" was being reshot.
- Barbera compared A.I.'s rise in filmmaking to the digital revolution of the 1990s but said A.I.'s impact "will be far greater" on mankind, adding that many filmmakers and studios already use it "without disclosing."
- Barbera confirmed the Oasis documentary premiere drew Sala Grande energy "more like a rock concert," with audiences laughing, clapping, and singing during the screening.
Why it matters: Barbera pins studio absences on unfinished films rather than cost, yet Deadline's counterexamples — Sinners, Backrooms, The Odyssey thriving without festival launches — test that explanation. His late-slotting of NAZA, repeating last year's Hind Rajab scheduling pattern, reveals Venice is managing when political conversations happen at the festival rather than avoiding them altogether, while Italy's non-recognition of Palestine hard-caps what the festival can display.
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