Reportage
In Venice, thousands put the spotlight on Israel’s genocide
The aim of the march was to forcefully assert the need to recognize the genocide taking place in Gaza, in a mobilization that is involving ever-broader segments of civil society.
“We have turned the Festival’s spotlight on the ongoing genocide in Palestine, from the star system to the atrocities,” the activists at the head of the march shouted as they reached the police cordon separating them from the Palazzo del Cinema.
Turnout for Saturday afternoon’s demonstration at the Venice Lido, gathered under the slogan “Free Palestine – Stop the genocide,” was high – “there are more than ten thousand of us,” the organizers say, numbers higher than expected – and many groups marched together from Lido Santa Maria Elisabetta, the hub where the vaporetti dock, to the threshold of the film festival, before returning to the starting point in a circular route.
The aim of the march was to forcefully assert the need to recognize the genocide taking place in Gaza, in a mobilization that is involving ever-broader segments of civil society. There was no “breach” of the security lines at the festival, as had been feared. There were many speeches from the groups present, each with its own focus and sensibility, but with the common goal of not remaining silent in the face of over 60,000 deaths and a victim toll that shows no sign of stopping.
The demonstration was promoted by the social centres of the North-East, an umbrella name that includes groups like Radio Sherwood, Laboratorio Occupato Morion, and S.a.L.E. Docks, along with a committee formed by no less than 200 associations, with adherents including AVS, Rifondazione Communista, and the PD (whose banners, however, were nowhere to be seen).
One of the most “cinematic” and moving moments of the day was the marchers disembarking from the boat chartered by the activists to allow those coming from the mainland to also participate in the demonstration. About 1,000 people departed from Marghera, turning the vessel chartered from the local public transport company ACTV into a moving display of Palestinian flags. Those getting off the boat included people of all ages.
We speak with Mahzad, 25 years old, as she holds up a flag of the environmental movement Extinction Rebellion: “I fled Iran and came here to demonstrate against the occupation and genocide, and this is also connected with the fight for the climate, because the bombs dropped on Palestine are devastating for both people and the environment.”
A little further on is the Marghera Permanent Committee against War and Racism: “We got the workers at Fincantieri involved, because what is being manufactured there is death, both inside and outside the company. We want to denounce the Italian government and its war industries.”
Also present was the Udine Committee for Palestine, which is fighting to stop the soccer match between Italy and Israel on October 12: “a textbook case of sportswashing for Netanyahu to clean up his image and wash away the genocide. FIFA must not allow it.”
There was much excitement for a convergence with the world of cinema: with the Venice Film Festival underway just a few steps away and the letter promoted by Venice4Palestine – which supported the demonstration – signed by a full 1,500 artists and industry professionals, and the festival itself, which spoke officially about an “openness to dialogue.”
In this regard, participation was only partial: festival host Emanuela Fanelli was spotted – who had previously said she would not speak on the stage but would come to the march – as well as Michele Riondino, Donatella Finocchiaro, Anna Negri, Zerocalcare, and a few international directors such as Céline Sciamma and Teona Strugar Mitevska.
Tecla Insolia, co-star of Amata, a film by Elisa Amoruso shown at the festival, was also there and told us: “It’s a collective moment of solidarity. We are all horrified by what is happening, we want an end to the genocide.”
We asked her what she thought about the controversy over the request not to invite the two actors Gal Gadot and Gerard Butler, supporters of the Israeli army in various capacities: “Too much visibility was given to this issue. The media focused on the most simplified aspect. I am very unhappy about that. There was much more in that letter.” It is likely, however, that the fear of being caught up in the media storm kept some directors and actors from participating.
Luciana Castellina also spoke about the fear: “That interview with Verdone that everyone went along with really put me in a bad mood. It once again claimed that culture should not concern itself with what is happening, as if it could abstract itself from the present, from society, from history. That is absurd.”
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/a-venezia-diecimila-in-corteo-i-riflettori-ora-sul-genocidio on 2025-08-31