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Venice Film Festival faces political pressure and funding cuts ahead of opening

An open letter calls for pro-Palestinian action at the festival, which is also grappling with a $2.3 million European Commission funding cut and debates over AI.

Updated Aug 28, 2026 · 12:19 UTC2 reports

The short version

  • A collective of prominent cultural figures, including Roger Waters and Annie Ernaux, has petitioned the Venice Film Festival to fly the Palestinian flag and support Gaza.
  • The European Commission withdrew $2.3 million in funding from the festival's parent foundation because Russian and Israeli national pavilions were permitted at the Biennale art exhibition.
  • Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera has defended the lineup as "the most political one in recent years," arguing that the festival must remain a censorship-free space for dialogue.

Key facts

  • The Venice4Palestine collective issued an open letter signed by figures including writer Annie Ernaux, musician Roger Waters, and directors Isabel Coixet and Matteo Garrone calling on the festival to take concrete action in support of Palestine.[Variety]
  • The open letter requests that the Palestinian flag be flown throughout the festival, which features two Palestinian films in its official selection.[Variety]
  • The European Commission cut $2.3 million from the Venice Biennale Foundation because Russia and Israel were allowed to host shows in their Biennale art exhibition pavilions.[Variety]
  • Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco criticized the funding cut as a double standard, pointing out that the European Union has continued to purchase billions of dollars in liquefied natural gas contracts from Russia.[Variety]
  • Venice will screen "Be Brave," a portrait of fashion brand founder Renzo Rosso directed by Francesco Carrozzini, making it the first film created entirely with artificial intelligence to be featured at a top-tier international film festival.[Variety]

What remains uncertain

  • It is unclear how the Venice Film Festival will respond to the Venice4Palestine letter, as organizers did not immediately comment on the group's demands.[Variety]

Sources