Ukrainian filmmaker criticizes EU decision to cut Venice Biennale funding

The short version

• Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa criticized the European Commission's termination of a €2m grant to the Venice Biennale, calling the measure childish and arguing it distracts from broader EU imports of Russian gas.[The Guardian]
• The EU ended the multiyear funding after the Biennale permitted Russia to access its pavilion for the first time since 2022, although the exhibition closed to the public in May.[The Guardian]
• Biennale organizers objected to the cut, emphasizing that the lost funds supported cinema programs entirely separate from the art exhibition.[The Guardian]

Key facts

• The European Commission ended its €2m multiyear grant to the Venice Biennale Foundation over the reopening of the Russian pavilion.[The Guardian]
• Director Sergei Loznitsa called the EU funding termination a kindergarten-like punishment that distracts from European purchases of Russian gas.[The Guardian]
• Biennale leadership stated the terminated EU funds co-financed cinema programs with no connection to the art exhibition.[The Guardian]
• The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs raised concerns over the festival's inclusion of the film Dau due to funding ties to a sanctioned businessman.[The Guardian]
• Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera defended Dau, stating it was not a Kremlin-backed project and instead critiques totalitarian systems.[The Guardian]

Sources

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.

• Ukrainian film-maker criticises EU after it cuts Venice Biennale funding over Russia controversyThe Guardian - World