Roger Waters and Annie Ernaux Urge Venice Festival to Act Against Alleged Palestinian Genocide

English musician Roger Waters, former Pink Floyd star, French Nobel laureate author Annie Ernaux, and Australian Emmy-winning actor Guy Pearce are among over 200 Italian and international artists who signed a letter addressed to the Venice Biennale and Venice Film Festival. The letter calls on these cultural events to take "concrete steps" against what the signatories describe as Israel's "genocide" of Palestinians. This appeal, titled "Venice4Palestine," follows a similar letter sent to the Venice Film Festival last year.

The letter states that a "new normal" has emerged partly due to a false ceasefire, accusing Israel of continuing and expanding its violent actions into the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon, and Iran. It emphasizes that nothing has changed for the Palestinian people and that tears alone are insufficient to absolve collective responsibility. The artists also demand that the Venice Festival fly the Palestinian flag throughout the event alongside other national flags representing official selections, in line with established practice.

Additional signatories include directors Isabel Coixet, Céline Sciamma, Matteo Garrone, Palestinian filmmakers Tarzan and Arab Nasser (identical twins from Gaza), and Israeli documentary filmmaker Eyal Sivan, who works in France. Representatives of "Venice4Palestine" will participate in a panel discussion in Venice on September 8 titled "And Yet Gaza Continues to Burn."