Around 300 filmmakers have signed an open letter opposing two Israeli films set to screen at the Venice Film Festival, held from 28 August to 7 September 2024.
Among the signatories are Italian filmmaker Enrico Parenti, actors Niccolò Senni, Simona Cavallari and Chiara Baschetti, in addition to a number of Arab filmmakers and actors — including two-time Oscar-nominated filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad and actor Saleh Bakri.
It seemed awkward to show two Israeli films at the Venice Film Festival while the war in the Gaza Strip was still in full swing, particularly that the festival administration had earlier opposed Russian participation because of the war in Ukraine.
The letter by filmmakers and artists is aimed at Dani Rosenberg’s Hebrew-language film Al Klavim Veanashim (Of Dogs and Men). The director is known for films that address the issue of the relationship between Palestinians and Israelis. His new film is set against the backdrop of the ongoing war in Gaza.
The second is Amos Gitai’s Why War. The latter stars French actors Irene Jacob, Mathieu Amalric and Micha Lescot. It is a fictional movie filmed against the backdrop of current events in Gaza. However, reports said that it does not address it directly.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the open letter is entitled No Artwashing at 81 Mostra Del Cinema di Venezia.
“We, the undersigned artists, filmmakers and cultural workers, reject complicity with the Israeli regime of apartheid and oppose the artwashing of its Gaza genocide against Palestinians at the 81st Film Festival in Venice,” the letter said.
It added, “Two films screening at the Festival—Of Dogs and Men and Why War—were created by Israeli production companies that are complicit in whitewashing Israel’s oppression against Palestinians.”
In another paragraph, the letter said the Venice Film Festival has remained silent about Israel’s atrocities against the Palestinian people.
“This silence outrages us deeply. As art and film workers around the world, we call for effective and ethical measures to hold apartheid Israel to account for its crimes and system of colonial oppression against Palestinians,” it wrote.
The festival has not issued any reaction or comment. But any response will likely include denying the festival’s support for what is happening in Gaza and its adhering to the separation between art and politics.
In recent years, the Venice festival had faced similar but less important protests when it decided to screen films by directors Roman Polanski, Luc Besson and Woody Allen, who have been accused of sexual harassment on multiple occasions.
At the time, Venice Film Festival boss Alberto Barbera defended his decision, stating that he is “a festival director, not a judge.”
But the protest by filmmakers opposing the screening of two Israeli films constitutes an uncommon development. Therefore, the festival must find justifications beyond those mentioned earlier.
Danny Rosenberg's Of Dogs and Men is about a young girl searching for her missing dog in the midst of the ongoing war.
Amos Gitai's Why War, a movie considered by some Arab critics to be a left-wing anti-government film, is said to be more of a backstory than a report on the present events although it builds on them.
