Culture
Venice Film Festival Jury Press Conference ‘Probably Not’ Happening Due to Scheduling, Will Replace Event With Welcome Cocktails for Journalists
The Venice Film Festival is weighing scrapping its traditional opening jury press conference on the Lido. The festival, which kicks off Sept. 2 with the world premiere of Danny Boyle’s “Ink,” told Variety that the presser will “probably not” take place, citing a scheduling conflict, and said a welco
Published 29 Aug, 19:48 · Pearl Hundred newsroom
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The news comes just days after Nobel Prize-winning author Annie Ernaux, Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters and filmmakers including Matteo Garrone and Isabel Coixet signed an open letter urging the Venice Biennale and film festival to take “concrete action in support of Palestine.” The letter was organized by the Venice4Palestine collective, which similarly targeted the festival last year and had urged the event’s organizers to withdraw invitations to Gerard Butler and Gal Gadot over their previous support for Israel.
The festival’s main competition jury is headed by Maggie Gyllenhaal and includes Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, whose acclaimed “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” about the killing of a five-year-old Palestinian girl in Gaza, premiered at Venice last year and won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize. Other jurors are Daniel Blumberg, Francesco Casetti, Xavier Giannoli, Shahrbanoo Sadat and Johnnie To.
Edited by the Pearl Hundred newsroom. Reporting and photography credited to Variety. View the original report.