Locarno Protest Unfurls 60,000 Names of Gaza Dead
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- Dr. Michele Ghielmini of Swiss Healthcare Workers Against Genocide organized approximately 100 demonstrators at Locarno who unwound a shroud bearing 60,000 names of people killed in Gaza since the war began two and a half years ago, as music from the Campari Lounge played nearby.
- The Locarno Film Festival organizers confirmed the protest was planned in advance and coordinated with police, saying they respect peaceful demonstrations provided they take place safely and without disrupting attendees.
- The 60,000-name banner had previously been displayed in Amsterdam and in front of the Swiss Parliament in Bern, and Ghielmini said organizers chose Locarno specifically to reach German-speaking Swiss press and audiences, whom he characterized as less sensitive than the Italian- and French-speaking regions.
- Protestors distributed literature demanding the Swiss government pressure Israel to open Gaza borders to relief organizations and media, allow injured Gaza civilians to receive medical treatment in Switzerland, and impose sanctions if Israel continues violating the Geneva Convention.
- Locarno avoided the political controversy that dogged the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year; Palestinian filmmakers including Mohanad Yaqubi ("Revolutionaries Never Die") and Asmahan Bkerat ("Concrete Land") have features in competition, and Israeli producers are participating in industry events.
- Over 8,000 attendees packed the Grand Piazza an hour after the protest concluded for a sold-out screening of Olivia Wilde's "The Invite."
Why it matters: The Locarno protest was deliberately pre-coordinated with festival organizers and police, reflecting a pressure-valve approach that lets Swiss civil society target German-language media — a region organizers themselves flagged as lagging on the issue. By contrast, Palestinian-directed films are in Locarno's competition while the festival has so far sidestepped the political controversies that engulfed Berlin earlier this year.
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