Venice Chief Barbera Defends DAU, Denies Pro-Putin Claim — SkimNews
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- Alberto Barbera posted a lengthy Instagram message on Wednesday defending his selection of Ilya Khrzhanovsky's DAU for Venice's main competition, calling weeks of criticism from activists and Ukrainian officials 'petty and unacceptable' and accusing critics of building 'a castle of accusations based on lying premises.'
- Barbera characterized DAU as 'not a Russian film' and 'not pro-Putin propaganda,' calling it instead 'a film of denunciation of totalitarian regimes and their intrusion into the lives of citizens to limit their freedom.'
- Khrzhanovsky is described by Barbera as 'a Russian dissident' placed on Russian prohibition lists as 'a terrorist and enemy of the State' who has opposed the invasion of Ukraine 'since the very beginning.'
- Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Culture, and Embassy in Italy issued a joint statement expressing 'deep concern' over DAU's inclusion, warning that offering a prestigious cultural platform to 'a project linked to the Russian state and its networks of influence' sends 'a deeply worrying signal' during Russia's ongoing war.
- DAU follows a Greek-born physicist living in the USSR from 1928 to 1968 who is 'gradually compelled to place his scientific genius in the service of the Soviet state, helping to create the deadliest weapon in history'; the film debuts September 9 in Venice.
Why it matters: Barbera's defense puts Venice at the center of a culture-versus-complicity standoff: Ukrainian ministries publicly objected to a project they call state-linked premiering at a global stage, while Barbera recasts Khrzhanovsky as a Kremlin-targeted dissident. The September 9 debut becomes the first concrete test of whether international press and programmers treat that framing as sufficient or press for further consequences for the Biennale.
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