Alexander Payne dodges the conversation Gaza at the press conference of the Venice jury
The current war in Gaza was the main subject of conversation at the press conference of the Jury of the Venice Film Festival this year, although director Alexander Payne has diplomatically chosen not to offer his point of view.
“Frankly, I feel a little unprepared for this question,” said Payne, the president of the competition jury, when he was asked about his personal position on the humanitarian crisis. “My political opinions, I am sure, agree with many yours. I am here to judge and talk about cinema.”
Payne noted that the questions on the position of the Festival on Gaza would be better addressed to the Venice chief Alberto Barbera, who offered his sympathies to the people affected but said that no one will be disinvited at the World Cinema Rally.
“We were asked to refuse the invitation to artists; we will not do it,” said Barbera. “If they want to be at the festival, they will be here. On the other hand, we have never hesitated to clearly declare our enormous sadness and our suffering towards what is happening in Gaza and in Palestine. The death of civilians and especially children, who are not victims, the war guarantees of a war that could not dismiss.
Payne, the Oscar Nominated Director of “The Holdovers” and “Sideways,” is Presiding Over This Year’s Jury and Will Judge the Films in Competition Along with Brazilian Actress Fernanda Torres (An Oscar Nominee for “I’m Still Here”), Iranian Author Mohammad (“The Seed of the Sacred Fig “), Romanian Filmmaker Cristian Mungiu (” 4 Months, 3 weekends and 2 days “), the French director Stéphane Brizé (” excluding season “), the Italian director Maura Delpero (” Vermiglio “) and the Chinese actor-producer Zhao Tao (” taken by the tides “).
All were present at the press conference on Wednesday, but only Payne was one of the speakers of the panel. Others, the platform included the Scottish filmmaker Charlotte Wells (“Aftersun”), Julia Ducournau (“Titane”) and Tommaso Santambrogio (“Closeing Time”).
Hollywood stars, notably Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Jacob Elord, Amanda Seyfried and Emma Stone, go to Venice to present films such as “After the Hunt”, “Jay Kelly”, “Frankenstein”, “The Testament of Ann Lee” and “Bugonia”.
More to come …
