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🇪🇸 Spain /Culture & Society

Susan Sarandon: “Some films were taken away from me, but I feel welcome among people”

From El País · () 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 agencies had discouraged people from hiring her after she criticized Israel and the war in Gaza.
  • Speaking at the Venice Film Festival, she said she nevertheless felt welcome among people, particularly internationally, and saw a major change in the narrative about Palestine.
  • Sarandon is presenting The Echo Chamber, a film by Andrea Pallaoro that competes for the Golden Lion.

Susan Sarandon says the cost of speaking out over Israel and the war in Gaza has included losing film roles. But at the Venice Film Festival, where she is presenting The Echo Chamber, she also said she feels increasingly welcomed by the public.

I think the narrative has completely changed regarding the historical relevance of Palestine and the links between Zionism and the United States in our politics.

· Susan SarandonShe described what she sees as a shift in public discussion while discussing the consequences of her political views.

“I think the narrative has completely changed regarding the historical relevance of Palestine and the links between Zionism and the United States in our politics,” Sarandon said when asked about the personal and professional consequences of her position. “Even so, recently some films have been taken away from me because there are agencies that keep telling people not to hire me. But that is the power structure. I think among people, and especially internationally, I feel welcome.”

Sarandon appears in The Echo Chamber alongside Italy’s Luca Marinelli and Sweden’s Alicia Vikander. The film, directed by Andrea Pallaoro, tells an intimate love story set in a musician’s apartment, where care, dependence, desire and control of emotions intersect. It adapts the last screenplay by filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci and is competing for the Golden Lion.

Even so, recently some films have been taken away from me because there are agencies that keep telling people not to hire me. But that is the power structure. I think among people, and especially internationally, I feel welcome.

· Susan SarandonShe discussed losing film opportunities after criticizing Israel and the war in Gaza.

The actor also recalled her friendship with Bertolucci and her admiration for him after seeing one of his early films, The Conformist. “Later I became very good friends with him through my relationship with Louis Malle, and I got to know him as a funny guy,” she said.

I thank Andrea for not heeding those warnings.

· Susan SarandonShe thanked director Andrea Pallaoro for casting her.

Sarandon, who won an Oscar in 1996 for Dead Man Walking, thanked Pallaoro for casting her. “I thank Andrea for not heeding those warnings,” she said, adding that “deeply entrenched positions still exist within the industry” and remain hostile toward her. She also praised Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez over Gaza, saying he was “on the right side of history,” and thanked Spain for what she called its moral strength and clarity in condemning the suffering in Gaza.

On the right side of history.

· Susan SarandonShe used the phrase to praise Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s position on Gaza.
About this summary

Originally published by El País 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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