Hollywood actress Gal Gadot was set to walk the red carpet of the Venice Film Festival 2025 for the premiere of her upcoming film, In The Hand of Dante. However, the actress, along with her co-star Gerard Butler, has recently come under fire for their constant support of Israel during its military campaign in Gaza
The actress will not be attending the film festival following in the wake of a political row. The organisers have expressed their concerns and suggested that the actress could act as a ‘lightning rod’ for protests amid planned demonstrations against Israel, which look certain to disrupt the red carpet on Saturday.
According to the Daily Mail, the pressure group Venice4Palestine has demanded that Festival organisers, the Venice Biennale to withdraw invitations from both Gal Gadot and Gerard Butler, along with any artist and celebrity who publicly and actively support the alleged genocide.
However, now Venice Film Festival head, Alberto Barbera, has confirmed that Gal Gadot will not attend the Venice Film Festival 2025.
Alberto Barbera announced, “The position of the Biennale is on the one hand we are an Italian cultural institution, a place of openness and debate that does not censor anybody. We’ve been asked to turn down invitations to artists – we will not do that, if they want to be here they will be here.”
He further noted, “On the other hand we have never hesitated to clearly declare our huge sadness and suffering vis a vis what is happening in Gaza and Palestine. The death of civilians and especially children who are victims – they are the collateral damage of a war nobody has been able to terminate yet.”
However, Forza Italia MP and deputy head of the party’s Foreign Affairs department, Isabella De Monte, has also addressed the withdrawal of the invitation and said, “Dialogue and a plurality of ideas are the main tools that culture deploys to overcome sectarianism.”
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He continued, “It’s good that Biennale President Pietrangelo Buttafuoco emphasised this to the 1,500 artists who were calling for a boycott of Gal Gadot and her film with Gerard Butler. A reckless protest, because in the eyes of those protesting, Gadot’s only crime is being Israeli. The Venice Film Festival deserves respect.”
The Venice Film Festival 2025 is scheduled to start on 27 August and will continue till 6 September 2025, at Venice Lido in Italy.
Meanwhile, Gal Gadot and Gerard Butler starrer The Hand of Dante also features Oscar Isaac, Martin Scorsese, and Jason Momoa among others in the lead roles. The upcoming crime thriller will premiere in the US theatres on September 3.
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