Before the festival began, Venice4Palestine was denied permission to fly the Palestinian flag at the event.
By Shula Rosen
A Palestinian flag was raised and calls of “Free Palestine” were heard following the premiere of Israeli director Amos Gitai’s documentary “The Road to Jericho” at the 83rd Venice Film Festival.
Gitai’s film was met with applause during its screening, but an audience member displayed a Palestinian flag after the film ended while others called out “Free Palestine.”
The issue of displaying the Palestinian flag was also raised during a press conference, where an attendee complained that festival management had not flown the flag over the festival palace.
The protest followed an unsuccessful effort before the festival by the Venice4Palestine collective to have a Palestinian flag displayed because two Palestinian directors were represented at the event.
Festival organizers rejected the request on the grounds that Italy does not officially recognize Palestine as a state.
Artistic Director Alberto Barbera told Italian media that the festival could not grant the request because Palestine does not have official recognition as a state from Italy.
Gitai has frequently been critical of Israel’s government and Israeli society but has not supported efforts to boycott Israeli cultural works.
In 2024, the Israeli filmmaker opposed calls to prevent his film “Why War” from being screened at the Venice Film Festival.
The letter asserted that Gitai’s film had been created by “complicit Israeli production companies that contribute to apartheid, occupation and now genocide through their silence or active participation in artwashing.”
Gitai said that those calling for a boycott had never seen his movie and that he hoped that the Israel-Palestinian conflict would be resolved someday.
“Sometimes the worst low point will give a place to reconciliation because these people will understand this is not the way to go on,” said Gitai. “They cannot go on killing one another and proclaiming this as a victory. These are empty propositions.”
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