Calls Grow For Palestinian Flag To Fly At Venice Film Festival As Artistic Director Says Not Possible To Meet Request — SkimNews
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- Alberto Barbera told Italian newspaper La Repubblica the Palestinian flag cannot fly at the Venice Film Festival because Palestine is not a state recognized by Italy, even though the Biennale traditionally displays flags for every country represented by a film in official selection.
- Two Palestinian-directed films are in the 2025 official selection — Ahmed Hassouna's "Citizen Osama" and Muayad Alayan's "Conversation with the Sea" — alongside Israeli works including Amos Gitai's "The Road to Jericho" and "Naza" by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, the directors of Oscar-winning "No Other Land."
- Venice4Palestine responded with a second open letter titled "Fly the Palestinian flag at the Lido," arguing Italy has already implicitly recognized Palestine by hosting Palestinian Ambassador Mona Abuamara and noting roughly 150 countries — including 35 European states such as France, Spain, and the UK — recognize Palestine.
- Barbera defended the Biennale's stance by citing its 2024 selection of "The Voice of Hind Rajab," which reconstructed the killing of a five-year-old girl in Gaza, and saying this year's lineup includes four films tackling the Palestinian question "from different points of view."
- The collective's initial open letter has now gathered 1,000 signatures, with early signatories including Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters, Nobel laureate Annie Ernaux, and directors Matteo Garrone and Isabel Coixet.
- Venice4Palestine scheduled a public protest for September 9 outside the Italian parliament in Rome under the banner "Solidarity cannot be put on trial, dissent cannot be silenced," and referenced recent attacks on Mark Ruffalo and past criticism of Susan Sarandon and Vanessa Redgrave as evidence institutions let individual artists absorb political risk.
Why it matters: The standoff hinges on a technical point of diplomatic recognition both sides interpret differently: the Biennale cites Italy's lack of formal recognition, while Venice4Palestine counters that Italy already treats Palestine as a state by accrediting its ambassador — a contradiction that weakens the festival's legal justification. For cultural institutions broadly, the dispute tests whether festivals will make explicit political statements when their host governments will not, and shifts the burden of visible protest onto individual artists and directors.
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