Protesters raised their voices to bring the message of the Palestinian people to the red carpet of the Venice Film Festival, demonstrating “against the genocide” perpetrated by the Israeli government. The demonstration, organized by social centers from the Northeast and the Anpi partisan association, flooded the Lido di Venezia in the afternoon.
A large and diverse crowd participated, including Catholics, far-left youth, the elderly, and ordinary citizens. Organizers estimated attendance at five thousand, who were monitored by the substantial security presence deployed in advance by the police. The protest included well-known faces and actors attending the festival, such as presenter Emanuela Fanelli and actor Michele Riondino, who had displayed the Palestinian flag on his phone case earlier in the day. They were joined by Lorenzo Zebetti, star of Paolo Sorrentino’s film “La Grazia,” Tecla Insolia from “Amata,” and actresses Donatella Finocchiaro and Ottavia Piccolo, a Lido resident.
Politicians in attendance included Luana Zanella, parliamentary leader of the Left-Green Alliance (Avs), alongside Nichi Vendola and Luciana Castellina. The rally began in the Santa Maria Elisabetta square, the vaporetto landing at the Lido, where a 700-passenger chartered motorship also disembarked, completely full. Hundreds of small paper boats bearing the Palestinian flag were placed on the square’s pavement. The march was led by a banner reading, “Stop genocide – Free Palestine from the river to the sea.”
The protest route was circular, proceeding along the Gran Viale and the Lungomare, skirting the Festival areas before returning to the starting point. Speeches were given by various groups supporting the initiative, including testimony from a Palestinian woman and a doctor who had worked in Gaza. A moment of tension arose when a student, in the heat of her speech, asserted that “the future of Palestine is a future without Israel.” In reality, all the chants were for the liberation of Palestine “from the river to the sea.” An organizer later emphasized that the demonstration was “not an expression of antisemitism, but a radical critique of Zionism, for the freedom of peoples.”
Addressing criticism from the Festival’s director, a speaker stated, “We call on the Biennale to be consistent ahead of the next Art Biennale. This is not about silencing individual artists, but about not giving space to a country that commits international crimes. In Venice, things will not continue as before.” The event also featured a live link with organizers of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which is set to sail for Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid.
In a related effort, the Ligurian NGO Music For Peace in Genoa reported a continuous flow of people donating supplies, having collected over 300 tons of material in just five days. The boats from Genoa, estimated at three to five, will join the rest of the flotilla in Catania before all vessels depart together on September 4th to attempt to break the siege of Gaza.