The Locarno Film Festival’s Piazza Grande was the site of a demonstration last night (August 8) organised by local activists calling for an end to violence in Gaza.
The brief demonstration took place ahead of the world premiere screening of Miguel Ángel Jiménez’s The Birthday Party, starring Willem Dafoe, Vic Carmen Sonne and Emma Suárez.
A minute’s silence was held, and many attendees held up cards that included the words ‘Stop Genocide. Words and actions for peace, against indifference’. The cards also included images of blood red bandages.
At the end of the demonstration, the festival’s artistic director, Giona A Nazzaro, said from the stage: “We are with you, thank you,” which was met by a round of applause from the square.
One attendee said the festival appeared to have backed the demonstration, allowing the cards to be distributed at the entrance to the Piazza Grande and inside the venue. Five thousand cards were reportedly distributed.
Screen has contacted the Locarno Film Festival for comment.
Local media described the organisers as a “nonpartisan and nondenominational” group of citizens called Azione Cartoline. In a statement sent to local press, the group said: “Last night, the Locarno Film Festival, with the courageous words of Giona Nazzaro, expressed its outrage at the tragic suffering inflicted on the people of Gaza through the ongoing violation of human rights, and we are deeply grateful.”
The Piazza Grande section of the Locarno Film Festival is an open-air venue that can seat up to 8,000 people.
The Locarno Film Festival kicked off on Wednesday night (August 6) with the Piazza Grande screening of Tamara Stepanyan’s French-Armenian drama In The Land Of Arto.