Overview

• The 10‑day Mostra opens on the Lido with Paolo Sorrentino’s La Grazia and a high‑profile red carpet featuring Julia Roberts, George Clooney and other marquee names.
• Venice4Palestine’s open letter signed by hundreds of filmmakers urges the Biennale to denounce what they call a genocide in Gaza and to revoke invitations for certain actors.
• Activists scheduled a media event by the red carpet on opening day and plan a Saturday march timed to the world premiere of Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein.
• Festival director Alberto Barbera says the Biennale will not issue political statements or boycott artists, framing the event as a forum for open debate.
• Barbera says Gal Gadot was never slated to attend and Gerard Butler’s presence is unconfirmed, as the lineup foregrounds geopolitics with Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Voice of Hind Rajab in competition and Lucrecia Martel’s Nuestra tierra premiering August 30.