Barbera Defends DAU, Denies 'Pro-Putin Propaganda' Label
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- Alberto Barbera posted a lengthy Instagram message on Wednesday defending Venice's selection of DAU, calling critics 'petty and unacceptable' and arguing their attacks were built on 'lying premises and manipulation of reality.'
- Barbera rejected the 'pro-Putin propaganda' label, casting DAU as 'a film of denunciation of totalitarian regimes' by a Russian dissident whom Russia's regime has branded a 'terrorist and enemy of the State' who opposed the Ukraine invasion 'since the very beginning.'
- Barbera framed Venice as 'one of the few wanderers in the world defending freedom of expression, regardless of geographical origin and nationality,' concluding his post: 'Let's defend autonomy and freedom.'
- Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Culture, and Ukrainian Embassy in Italy issued a joint statement expressing 'deep concern' over DAU's inclusion in the main competition, warning that offering a prestigious platform to a project linked to Russian state networks 'sends a deeply worrying signal.'
- DAU follows a Greek-born physicist living in the USSR from 1928 to 1968 who is compelled to place his scientific genius in the service of the Soviet state to help create 'the deadliest weapon in history,' according to the official synopsis.
- DAU is set to debut on September 9 in Venice's main competition.
Why it matters: Barbera is staking Venice's credibility on his claim that DAU denounces totalitarianism, while Ukraine's three-ministry joint protest frames the same selection as legitimizing Russian state-linked cultural influence. The dispute puts Venice's stated autonomy against diplomatic pressure from a country at war, with the September 9 premiere as the first public test of which framing prevails.
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