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🇦🇷 Argentina /Culture & Society

Susan Sarandon Says Her Activism for Palestine Is Still Costing Her Work at Venice Festival

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Interview Named sources Context piece
  • Susan Sarandon said at the Venice Film Festival that she continues to lose acting work because of her public support for Palestinians.
  • She said public understanding of Palestine’s historical significance and US support for Israel had changed, while recent US opinion polls showed declining support for Israel and rising sympathy for Palestinians.
  • The festival has also faced calls to fly the Palestinian flag, a request its artistic director rejected because Italy does not officially recognize Palestine as a state.

Susan Sarandon used her appearance at the Venice Film Festival to say that support for Palestinians continues to carry professional consequences. The Oscar-winning actress said she had recently lost film roles because agencies were still telling people not to hire her.

“Recently, I have had film roles taken away because there are agencies that keep telling people not to hire me,” Sarandon told reporters. She added, “But that is how the power structure works. Among people, and certainly internationally, I feel welcome.”

Recently, I have had film roles taken away because there are agencies that keep telling people not to hire me.

· Susan SarandonShe described the professional consequences she says followed her public support for Palestinians.

Sarandon said public discussion had shifted sharply around Palestine’s historical importance and the links between Zionists, the United States and American policy. “It has been a great revelation for people to discover how much money the United States gives Israel; nobody really understood it,” she said.

But that is how the power structure works. Among people, and certainly internationally, I feel welcome.

· Susan SarandonShe said she still feels accepted by people despite losing work.

The 79-year-old actress has supported the Palestinian cause since the Gaza war began in 2023. Her longtime agency, UTA, dropped her as a client in 2023 after comments she made while attending pro-Palestinian demonstrations, shortly after Hamas’s attack on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza.

The conflict has also entered this year’s Venice festival. The activist group Venice4Palestine has urged organizers to fly the Palestinian flag in recognition of Palestinian directors whose films are being screened. Artistic director Alberto Barbera said that could not happen because Italy does not officially recognize the State of Palestine, while noting that several films at the Lido portray the struggles of ordinary Palestinians.

It has been a great revelation for people to discover how much money the United States gives Israel; nobody really understood it.

· Susan SarandonShe discussed what she sees as a change in public understanding of US support for Israel.
About this summary

Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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