Tag: venice film festival

  • Jewish filmmaker Sarah Friedland slams Israel during her acceptance speech at Venice Film Festival awards

    Jewish filmmaker Sarah Friedland slams Israel during her acceptance speech at Venice Film Festival awards

    Jewish- American filmmaker Sarah Friedland spoke out against Israel’s genocide of Gaza during an awards ceremony at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday. While accepting the Luigi de Laurentiis prize for best first film for ‘Familiar Touch,’ Sarah Friedland said, “I’m accepting this award on the 336th day of Israel’s genocide in Gaza and 76th year of occupation,” as loud applause broke out in the packed hall.

    “I believe it is our responsibility as filmmakers to use the institutional platforms through which we work to redress Israel’s impunity on the global stage. I stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine and their struggle for liberation,” Friedland stressed as the applause continued.
     
     Israel’s genocide in Gaza has now entered its 12th month, with over 40,939 people killed and 94,619 wounded since October 7, 2023.

  • ‘Culpa Mia’ actor Gabriel Guevara arrested on sexual assault charges

    ‘Culpa Mia’ actor Gabriel Guevara arrested on sexual assault charges

    Spanish actor Gabriel Guevara has been arrested at the Venice Film Festival on an international arrest warrant accusing him of sexual assault in France, as reported by Hollywood Reporter. The actor was set to receive the best young actor honor award given out by Filming Italy. After his arrest, the organisation released a statement saying they had cancelled the award as a precautionary measure, and were waiting for the outcome of the case.

    The Venice Film Festival posted a statement on their official account to address the arrest:

    “#BiennaleCinema2023#Venezia80#LaBiennaleDiVenezia would like to specify that the presence in #Venice of Spanish actor #GabrielGuevara, that some press websites have recently reported as being under arrest, was not linked to any activity or production of the 80th Venice International Film Festival.”

    Guevara sky rocketed to international fame after the Amazon Prime movie ‘Culpa Mia’ where he played the rebellious step brother, Nick, who clashes with his step sister Noah (played by Nicole Wallace) after she moves to their mansion after their parents re-marry. The two originally start off as enemies, but soon come to realise their feelings for each other can’t be ignored.

  • Pakistani film ‘Hum-Saya’ receives Best Short Documentary award at Venice Film Festival

    Pakistani film ‘Hum-Saya’ receives Best Short Documentary award at Venice Film Festival

    Director Dawood Murad’s venture ‘Hum-Saya’, produced by the Centre For Social Justice, has received the prestigious award for ‘Best Short Documentary on Human Rights’ at the Venice Intercultural Festival 2023. The film focuses on the story of two girls who are abducted, forcibly converted and then married off, while also exploring the turmoil their families undergo.

    In an Instagram post, the director revealed that the film will also be screened in Venice, Italy, on June 23 and later at Kellogg College, Oxford, on June 16.

    A recent report compiled by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan found that in the year 2021, at least 60 cases of forced conversions were reported in the media, out of which 70% of the girls were under the age of 18 and were from Sindh.

    The data also revealed that blasphemy cases were on the rise in the country. In 2021 there were 585 blasphemy cases registered in Punjab, out of which 16 were filed against the Ahmadi community.