Adèle Haenel, Annie Ernaux and Céline Sciamma Call for Palestine Support Ahead of Venice Film Festival

A pro-Palestinian campaign is seeking a visible role for Palestine at the Venice Film Festival, from the flags displayed at the event to the films included in its official selection.

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take concrete measures in support of Palestine

Venise4Palestine has called on the organizers of the festival's 83rd edition, scheduled in Italy from Sept. 2 to 12, to take concrete measures in support of Gaza. The collective wants a Palestinian flag raised alongside the flags representing films in the official program.

The open letter has attracted prominent names from the arts, including Nobel Literature laureate Annie Ernaux, filmmaker Céline Sciamma and actor Adèle Haenel. Roger Waters, the Pink Floyd co-founder, also appears on the list, which includes several pro-Palestinian organizations.

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raise the Palestinian flag alongside all the other flags representing the films in the official selection

The campaign's demands include suspending agreements with bodies and institutions linked to the Israeli government and providing complete transparency about the festival's financing. It also wants two films about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Ahmed Hassouna's Mowaten Osama and Muayad Alaya's Hiwar ma’ albahr, added to the official selection.

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Israel has not only stopped its abuses, but continued them, extending its firepower toward the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon and Iran

Venise4Palestine mounted a similar campaign in 2025, calling for Palestinian resistance to be placed at the center of public debate. It also urged a boycott of actors Gal Gadot and Gerard Butler and asked people to use the term “genocide” rather than “war” for Israel's military actions in Gaza. In its latest letter, the group says the situation has not changed for Palestinians and that artists still need to mobilize at the festival.

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For the Palestinian people, nothing has changed