US director Julian Schnabel on Wednesday criticised calls for two of the stars of his latest film, Gal Gadot and Gerard Butler, not to show up at the Venice Film Festival over their support for Israel.
Last month a collective of hundreds of film industry figures, Venice4Palestine, urged the festival to take a robust stand over the war in Gaza.
The group subsequently called for Israeli actor Gadot and Britain's Butler, who once took part in a fundraiser for the Israeli Defence Forces, to be barred from the 11-day event.
The two actors appear in Schnabel's star-studded movie In the Hand of Dante which premiered at Venice on Wednesday. Neither actor was set to appear on the red carpet, though Gadot had never been expected to attend, according to pre-festival planning notes.
Asked about the push to bar actors for their political beliefs, Schnabel said: “I think there's no reason to boycott artists. I selected the actors for their merits as actors, and they did an extraordinary job in the film, and that's about it.”
Festival director Alberto Barbera told Reuters last week Venice welcomed open debate, but dismissed calls for anyone to be excluded from the festival.
In the Hand of Dante follows author Nick Tosches as he is drawn into a violent quest to verify the origins of a manuscript believed to be Dante's The Divine Comedy. Jumping between the 21st and 14th centuries, the film interweaves the parallel lives of Tosches and Dante, both played by US actor Oscar Isaac.
The film also stars Al Pacino, John Malkovich, Martin Scorsese, Jason Momoa and Louis Cancelmi. It is being shown out of competition in Venice, meaning it is not in the running for the Golden Lion award.
The project was a labour of love for Schnabel, an American painter-turned-filmmaker who previously directed the art house movies The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Before Night Falls and At Eternity's Gate.
Reuters
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