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Venice Film Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera spoke candidly Tuesday about the political pressures surrounding this year’s edition, while making clear that the fest has no intention of shying away from controversy.

Speaking to Variety at the press cocktail on the Lido ahead of the 83rd edition, Barbera said it was “almost normal” that Venice was being pressed to take a political position given the number of films in the lineup touching on Gaza, Palestine, Ukraine and other contentious subjects.

“There are several films that can start controversies or, at the very least, provoke very strong political reactions,” Barbera said. “They ask whether the festival — and especially the Biennale — is going to take very clear and explicit political positions. What we always say is that neither the Biennale nor the festival will make political declarations in order to take sides.”

His comments came a day after Venice reinstated its jury press conference amid some backlash and as artists and activists, including Venice4Palestine, have called on the Biennale to take a stronger position on the war in Gaza.

“We are a space for freedom of expression. Our role is to safeguard freedom of expression for everyone, for the artists, and to safeguard the confrontation between artists and the public, the critics and people in general,“ said Barbera. “We will never take an explicit political position. It doesn’t make any sense.”

Barbera also firmly denied that the absence of Israeli films from this year’s lineup reflected a boycott, saying Venice received only one Israeli submission and chose not to invite it.

“No, not at all. Never,” he said. “We have no prejudice against anyone anywhere in the world. If there had been a Russian film, an Israeli film of good quality, we would undoubtedly have invited it.”

He added that Venice would have been prepared to face the political backlash that might have followed.

Barbera also said the festival almost selected Vincent Gallo’s latest film, “Golden State Killer” starring James Franco, which Barbera revealed nearly made the lineup.

“We told him, ‘We like the film very much. We know it is a film that is going to divide the public, but we are ready to face a complicated situation,’” Barbera said. Venice offered the film an out-of-competition berth, but Gallo ultimately declined because he wanted to compete for the Golden Lion. Asked whether Franco’s presence was a concern, Barbera said it was not, adding that the issue was the provocative nature of the film itself.

Barbera, who has selected Roman Polanski’s and Woody Allen’s movies in recent years, said Venice could get away with these bold choices where other festivals would be plagued by a widespread scandal due to “the prestige of the Biennale and the credibility that the Biennale has gained over the years” through its defense of artistic freedom “without ever taking a political side.”

Asked whether Allen might return with his next movie, which he’s about to shoot in Madrid, Barbera quipped: “It depend how good his next film will be! We’ll see. Maybe.”

He also rejected the idea that Hollywood studios were retreating from Venice, saying several major U.S. titles simply were not ready in time, including films from Aaron Sorkin and David Fincher.

“We know the situation in Hollywood. We know the situation of the studios. They are in difficulty,” he said, pointing to mergers and shifting production and distribution strategies.

Still, Barbera predicted the studios would return, calling Venice “a very good promotional opportunity.”

Venice opens Wednesday with “Ink,“ Danny Boyle’s drama about the birth of Rupert Murdoch’s tabloid empire, starring Jack O’Connell, Guy Pearce and Claire Foy.

Why does everyone seem to want Venice to take a political position this year?

Because we had Berlin, obviously, with all the problems between the government, Palestine, the pro-Palestinian protests and all of that. Poor Wim Wenders was basically trapped by the press conference. At Cannes, a little less, because there weren’t really films that were politically very sensitive. Here, we have a lot of films. We have four films dealing with Gaza and Palestine. We have the problems of Ukraine. We have Elon Musk. There are several films that can start controversies or, at the very least, provoke very strong political reactions. So I would say it is almost normal that people expect something. They ask whether the festival — and especially the Biennale — is going to take very clear and explicit political positions. What we always say is that neither the Biennale nor the festival will make political declarations in order to take sides. Obviously, that is not what we do.

But they are actually asking you to do that?

Yes, they are asking us. For example, you know that the pro-Palestinian groups sent a document — the letter — asking for an official pro-Palestinian declaration and all of that. But after all, we are a space for freedom of expression. We invite films. We understand that there will be discussions, debates and everything that comes with that. Our role is to safeguard freedom of expression for everyone, for the artists, and to safeguard the confrontation between artists and the public, the critics and people in general. We will never take an explicit political position. It doesn’t make any sense.

But at the same time, I think it is clear what our position is, because through the program, through the programming of the festival and through the films that we invite, it is clear what we are doing and what kind of space we want the festival to be.

But you don’t have any Israeli films this year, do you?

No.

Why is that?

First of all, because we received only one Israeli film. One single Israeli submission. We didn’t like it enough, so we decided not to invite it. And for the first time, we didn’t receive any other proposals for Israeli films. I don’t know why.

So there is no boycott?

No, not at all. Never. It is absolutely important to say that we have no prejudice against anyone anywhere in the world. If there had been a Russian film, an Israeli film of good quality, we would undoubtedly have invited it. And we were ready to face the political reaction that would have been predictable. Because if we had had an Israeli film, obviously the pro-Palestinian groups could have launched an international appeal to boycott the Israeli film and everything around it. That would have been horrible, but we were ready to face that situation.

At one point, apparently you almost took the Vincent Gallo film with James Franco. What happened there?

Yes and Vincent told us in the end that he preferred that we not do anything. He only wanted to come if he was in competition.

Really?

We told him, “We like the film very much. We know it is a film that is going to divide the public, but we are ready to face a complicated situation.” But not in competition, because we didn’t think the profile of the film would benefit from the competition. In the end, we discussed it a lot — a lot, for a long time — and finally he said: “No, I prefer not to come.”

Was it a film that would have created controversy because of the film itself, or because of Vincent Gallo and James Franco?

No, because of the film. Because of the subject.

Because it is about a serial killer? Because it makes the serial killer sympathetic?

No, but you know, with Vincent Gallo there is always an approach that is, let’s say, troubling. There is always something unsettling in the way he approaches a subject.

But James Franco as well — wasn’t that a concern?

No. We didn’t care about that. Because it has already been several years since James Franco fell somewhat off the radar. He has started making films again in Italy recently. There are at least two films that have come out without any particular negative reaction toward him. So we were not concerned because of his presence in the film. That wasn’t the issue for us.

It seems that at Venice you can get away with things that at Cannes would immediately spark a huge backlash from journalists, the industry and everyone else. Why do you think Venice can do that?

Why Venice? I think because of the prestige of the Biennale and the credibility that the Biennale has gained over the years through its international positioning and through decisions that people have appreciated. It has built this credibility through its defense of artistic freedom and everything that goes with that, without ever taking a political side.

You have previously had Polanski, you have had Woody Allen. Could Woody Allen come back here with his next film?

It depends how good his next film will be! We’ll see. Maybe.

There are a lot of French and Italian films and filmmakers coming this year, but there are fewer Americans. Do you think the Americans will come back?

I think they will. The problem was that there simply weren’t films for Venice. The only film that was ready was Iñárritu’s film with Tom Cruise (“Digger”). And they had the right to decide not to show the film at a festival, to release the film more or less everywhere in the world and to play on the surprise and on Tom Cruise’s ability to bring in an audience. It is a shame, obviously. I would have loved to have the film. But that was really the only film that was available, because the other films weren’t ready. Sorkin had to reshoot scenes in August, so his film (“The Social Reckoning”) wasn’t ready. David Fincher was delayed in post-production (with “The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth”). There were simply no other films available for Venice.

Are the studios also afraid of going to festivals like Venice because the critical reaction can be so tough?

We know the situation in Hollywood. We know the situation of the studios. They are in difficulty. They are going through mergers. We don’t know how all of that is going to end. They are also rethinking their production strategies and their distribution strategies for films. So it is not a very good moment. There simply weren’t films ready at this particular moment. But I am sure that in the future the festival will continue to be an extraordinary opportunity for the promotion of films.

But it’s expensive to come to Venice.

It is not expensive. It depends, obviously, but if you have a film that costs $200 million and the studio is spending $5 million or much more on promoting the film, then coming to Venice or Cannes might cost around $1 million. Not more than that. So it is a very good promotional opportunity. I am sure they will come back.

More than 170 Jewish figures from the entertainment industry and beyond have signed a letter in support of Mark Ruffalo over what it asserts is a “smear campaign” against the actor.

Among those supporting the letter — which claims that Ruffalo has been the subject of “spurious charges of antisemitism” — are Joel Coen, Todd Hayes, Ilana Glazer, Hannah Einbinder, James Schamus, Emma Seligman, Tony Kushner, Jane Schoenbrun and Wallace Shawn.

The letter comes following a heated week in which Ruffalo has been at the center of a growing confrontation regarding the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger. In a social media post on Aug. 21, the Marvel star attacked the deal over its potential consequences for Hollywood, but also accused the Ellison family of being complicit in the “genocide” against Palestinians, which he said “was built on an apartheid system of oppression powered by Oracle.” In the post, he highlighted Oracle’s ties to the Israeli military.

In response, a Paramount spokesperson accused Ruffalo of invoking “antisemitic tropes” in “purported service of a business dispute.” Others also joined the debate, with both The Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Creative Community for Peace condemning Ruffalo’s comments, while an industry group including Haim Saban, Teddy Schwarzman and Lawrence Bender wrote that it was “unacceptable to introduce Jews, antizionism, or antisemitism into conversations about business transactions, simply because those involved are Jewish.”

Ruffalo hit back, claiming that Paramount’s accusation that he was antisemitic was “appalling and fundamentally dishonest” adding: “Criticizing the actions of the Israeli prime minister, a military technology contract, or the executives who supply it is not the same as criticizing Jewish people.” Others came to his defense too, with Einbinder — who is Jewish and has been outspoken in her support for Palestinian rights — thanking Ruffalo for drawing a “connection between the Ellisons providing military technology to Israel during a genocide and their unprecedented media takeover.” On Tuesday, Oscar-winning filmmaker and playwright Kenneth Lonergan shared a letter in support of Ruffalo in which he said the “notion that he is antisemitic is overtly preposterous, and the accusation itself a cynical and disgusting lie.”

The new letter signed by Jewish figures and published on Tuesday echoes the defense of Ruffalo, arguing against what it says are “false and dangerous weaponization of charges of antisemitism.” But it also highlights the same links made by Ruffalo about the Paramount/Warner Bros. merger and the Ellison family’s connections with Israel.

“Pointing out the crucial connections between what is happening in Gaza and what is happening in Hollywood is the exact opposite of antisemitism,” it claims. “It is, for us, the very essence of Jewish ethical duty.”

Alongside signing the letter, Glazer offered a further statement.

“Calling Mark Ruffalo antisemitic because he is questioning a massive corporate merger is not only absurd— it’s a dangerous way to shut down legitimate criticism,” she said. “Mark has consistently spoken out against antisemitism while also standing up for Palestinian rights and dignity for all people. It’s an American’s right to debate media consolidation and the dangers of monopolized corporate power without weaponizing antisemitism to bully people into silence.”

See the full letter (also posted online here with notes) and list of signatories below.

We are Jewish artists, writers, creative professionals, faith leaders and thinkers who have, in response to the outrageous smear campaign against our respected colleague Mark Ruffalo, a simple message to share with the world: Enough! Enough with the false and dangerous weaponization of charges of antisemitism against those who are brave enough to point out the obvious: that the assault on the Palestinian people and the assault on our liberties at home are deeply interconnected, and there is nothing antisemitic about recognizing that fact.

The proposed merger of Paramount and Warner Brothers Discovery is no mere combination of two huge multinational companies. Yes, it will destroy thousands upon thousands of livelihoods. Yes, it will further consolidate the oligarchic control of our media (witness the gutting of CBS News). Yes, it will strangle competition and creativity in film and television production and distribution.

But it will do all this and more as part of a larger project of tech-driven domination, a project Larry Ellison and his partners have never been shy about trumpeting — and one they themselves have explicitly linked to their support for the ongoing depredations being visited on the people of Palestine and their silencing of critics of those horrors. We all saw this after their Trump-brokered takeover of TikTok — a takeover they openly proclaimed was in large part motivated by their desire to boost pro-Israel propaganda. Larry Ellison personally, with his astonishing purported $350 million in funding and pledges to the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, has been Blair’s major backer as Blair assumes an influential role in the Trump-concocted “Board of Peace” takeover of Gaza, a territory which has become an open-air laboratory for AI-driven killing and control technologies like the ones celebrated by former Oracle CEO (and current Oracle and Paramount board member) Safra Catz.

The AI road to WarnerMount runs through Gaza, and Ellison has often let us know the Orwellian world he has in store for us as he consolidates control over what we watch and how we watch it, knowing that as we watch he and his corrupt cohort will always be watching us: “Citizens will be on their best behavior because we’re constantly recording and reporting.”

Pointing out the crucial connections between what is happening in Gaza and what is happening in Hollywood is the exact opposite of antisemitism. It is, for us, the very essence of Jewish ethical duty. According to a recent Washington Post poll, 61% of American Jews now agree that Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza; and four in ten even agree that these crimes amount to genocide. Do those attacking Mark Ruffalo as an antisemite seriously believe that all these American Jews are antisemites too? Or that we don’t see the connection between, on the one hand, the criminal impunities that have led the US and Israel into unending disaster and, on the other, the oligarchic powerplays of the Musks, Ellisons, Thiels and others who are working to dismantle our democracy?

But the virulence and falseness of the slanders they direct towards their critics is evidence of the increasing weakness of their position, based as it is on innuendos. Today, more and more people of conscience are joining together, to loudly and univocally proclaim: The time is over for spurious charges of antisemitism to be trotted out, this time in the defense of war, oligarchy, and AI domination. That tired playbook has run its course.

We stand proudly with Mark Ruffalo, and with all decent people who are bravely rising and speaking truth to power.

Aaron Costa Ganis, Actor

Abbi Jacobson, Actor/Comedian

Alan Snitow, Filmmaker

Alex Winter, Actor/Filmmaker

Alison Klayman, Filmmaker

Alison Leiby, Writer/Comedian

Alissa Weiss, Rabbi

Allie Gross, Writer

Amos Goldberg, Holocaust Historian, Hebrew University

Amy Ziering, Filmmaker

Anat Matar, Snr. Lecturer (Ret.), Tel Aviv University

Andrea Weiss, Filmmaker

Andrue Kahn, Rabbi

Anjuli Kronheim Katz, Advocate

Anna Pollack, Director

Anthony Arnove, Writer/Producer

Ariel Friedlander, Artist

Ariel Wengroff, Artist

Atalia Omer, Professor, University of Notre Dame

Avi Shlaim, Professor (Em.), St Antony’s College

Ayelet Waldman, Author

Barry Trachtenberg, Professor, Wake Forest University

Bella Freud, Designer

Ben Korman, Producer

Ben Moser, Author

Ben Natan, Actor/Producer

Brian A. Kates, Editor

Bruce Cohen, Producer

Camille Lévy Sarfati, Author/Curator

Cat Davis, Rabbi

Chani Nicholas, Astrologer

Charlie Goldensohn, Strategist/Commentator

Charlotte Sheedy, Literary Agent

Collier Meyerson, Writer

Craig Aaron, Journalist

Dana Kornberg, Assoc. Professor, UC Santa Barabra

Daniel Levy, Political Analyst

David Borenstien, Filmmaker

David Mivasair, Rabbi

David Vine, Author

David Wilson, Filmmaker

Deborah Eisenberg, Writer

Deborah Kaufman. Filmmaker

Deborah Shaffer, Filmmaker

Debra Winger, Actor

Deidre Fishel, Filmmaker

Dr. Mark Perlmutter, Physician

Einat Weizman, Filmmaker

Emily Kunstler, Filmmaker

Emma Seligman, Filmmaker

Erin Axelman, Filmmaker

Estee Chandler, Radio Host/Producer

Estelle Tarica, Professor, UC Berkeley

Ethan Sacks, Writer

Frances Fisher, Actor

Gabor Maté, Physician/Author

Gili Getz, Photographer

Gina Gershon, Actor

Ginny Suss, Producer

Hana Morgenstern, Assoc. Professor, Newnham College

Hannah Einbinder, Actor

Henry Bean, Screenwriter

Howard Rodman, Screenwriter

Hunter Abrams, Photographer

Idith Korman, Musician/Composer

Ilana Glazer, Actor/Writer/Director

Ilise Cohen, Scholar

Itamar Ziegler, Composer/Musician

James Renton, Professor, Edge Hill University

James Schamus, Filmmaker

James Wilson, Producer

Jamie Zelermeyer, Producer

Jane Schoenbrun, Filmmaker

Jason Kliot, Filmmaker

Jason Rosenberg, Public Health Advocate

Jeffrey Kusama-Hinte, Producer

Jenna Weiss-Berman, Producer

Jennifer L. Pozner, Author

Jeremiah Zagar, Director

Jeremy Yaches, Producer

Jesse Mechanic, Writer

Jill Goldman, Artist

Jillian Neal, Manager

Jo Firestone, Comedian/Actor

Joel Beinin, Professor (Em.), Stanford University

Joel Coen, Filmmaker

Jon Reiss, Filmmaker

Jonathan Feingold, Professor, Boston University School of Law

Jonathan Lethem, Writer

Josette Maskin, Musician

Karin Loevy, Professor, NYU School of Law

Kate Berlant, Actor

Kathy Wazana, Filmmaker

Lance Kramer, Producer

Larry Charles, Screenwriter/Director

Laura Kraftowitz, Writer

Leora Barish, Screenwriter

Libby Lenkinski, Producer

Linda Holtzman, Rabbi

Lindsay Beyerstein, Journalist

Lior Sternfeld, Assoc. Professor, Penn State University

Lisa Cholodenko, Filmmaker

Lonnie Kleinman, Rabbi

Liz Flahive, Screenwriter

Mara Hoffman, Artist

Marc Weiss, Filmmaker

Marianne Hirsch, Professor, Columbia University

Maris Kreizman, Writer

Mark LeVine, Professor, UC Irvine

Mati Shemoelof, Author/Poet

Matt Bernstein, Content Creator

Max Zev Reynolds, Rabbi

Meryl Crean, Rabbi

Michael Greif, Director

Michael J. Drexler, Assoc. Professor, Bucknell University

Michael Skolnik, Organizer

Michael Rothberg, Professor, UCLA

Miranda July, Filmmaker/Writer

Mneesha Gellman, Professor, Emerson College

Molly Crabapple, Author/Artist

Mordechai Liebling, Rabbi

Morgan Bassichis, Writer/Performer

Morgan Spector, Actor

Naomi Klein, Author/Professor

Nathan Thrall, Author

Nicole Morse, Educator

Nina Menkes, Filmmaker

Noa Avishag Schnall, Journalist

Orian Zakai, Assoc. Professor, George Washington University

Orli Matlow, Comedian

Peter Beinart, Journalist

Phyllis Bennis, Writer

Rachel Leah Jones, Filmmaker

Raphael Greenberg, Professor (Em.), Tel Aviv University

Raz Segal, Assoc. Professor, Stockton University

Rebecca Vilkomerson, Author/Analyst

Rick Pearlstein, Author

Rinat Abastado, Rabbinic Student

Roee Rosen, Artist

Romy Soleimani, Make-up Artist

Rosanna Arquette, Actor/Director

Sai Koros, Student Rabbi

Sandi DuBowski, Filmmaker

Sarah Kunstler, Filmmaker

Sarah Schulman, Writer

Sarah Sherman, Comedian/Actor

Sarah Sophie Flicker, Artist

Shira Klein, Assoc. Professor, Chapman University

Sigal Primor, Artist

Simone Zimmerman, Podcast Host

Spencer Ackerman, Author

Steve Quester, Anti-Racism Coach

Steven Katz, Screenwriter

Susan Margolin, Filmmaker

Susan S. Lanser, Professor (Em.), Brandeis University

Tamir Sorek, Professor, Penn State University

Tavi Gevinson, Actor/Writer

Ted Hope, Filmmaker

Terri Ginsberg, Asst. Teaching Professor, Rutgers University

Tia Lessen, Filmmaker

Todd Haynes, Filmmaker

Tony Gerber, Filmmaker

Tony Kushner, Screenwriter/Playwright

Udi Aloni, Filmmaker

Udi Raz, Writer

V (formerly Eve Ensler), Playwright/Author

Vanessa Hope, Filmmaker

Vanessa Nunes, Physician

Wallace Shawn, Actor/Playwright

Wendy Ettinger, Filmmaker

Yael Bridge, Filmmaker

Yael Ronen, Director

Yoni Golijov, Filmmaker

Zach Woods, Filmmaker

Zachary Foster, Historian

Zachary Lochman, Professor, NYU