Venice jury chief says films don't change the world

Alexander Payne believes movies serve as vital documents of their times and shape memory

VENICE:

US director Alexander Payne, president of the jury at this year's Venice Film Festival, said on Wednesday that while movies rarely alter the course of society, they serve as vital documents of their times and shape memory.

"Can a film really change society or culture? I don't know. Doubtful," Payne said, recalling that films such as Charlie Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" did not stop World War II, but rather showed that people were aware of what was going on.

"We have those as documents and, as such, we can try to learn from them," Payne, whose credits include the Oscar-winning comedies "Sideways" and "The Holdovers", said ahead of the formal opening of the 11-day festival later on Wednesday.

He lamented the shrinking space for theatrical releases in the age of streaming, saying movies that were only seen online struggled to make a broad impact on society. "It's typically films which have theatrical release, which become a part of a cinema conversation, of a cultural conversation, and then have some kind of impact," he said.

Big streamers such as Netflix and Amazon regularly showcase their films at Venice but then offer little or no exposure for those movies in cinemas, reserving them instead for their subscribers.

In the run-up to the 2025 event, some 1,500 film industry figures signed a petition urging the festival to take a robust stand over the war in Gaza, calling on the organisers to promote Palestinian voices and denounce Israeli actions.

Payne declined to say if he supported their call, while the head of the festival, Alberto Barbera, said he welcomed open debate but rejected suggestions that Israeli filmmakers or actors should be banned. "We reject outright the demand to disinvite artists who wish to take part in the festival.

The Venice festival opened on Wednesday night with the world premiere of Italian director Paolo Sorretino's "La Grazia." The event ends on September 6 when Payne and his fellow jury members announce who has won the top Golden Lion award.

The Festival kicked off with Hollywood royalty heading to Italy. Julia Roberts and George Clooney are some of the biggest names expected at the 82nd edition of the world's longest-running festival, with top directors from Kathryn Bigelow and Guillermo del Toro to Jim Jarmusch all due to arrive on the sandy Lido across the Venice lagoon.

Protesters held up a "Free Palestine" banner in front of the festival's main building, while a group of Italian film professionals have called on organisers to openly condemn Israel's invasion of Gaza. The festival has selected a film about the war for its main competition — "The Voice of Hind Rajab" by Franco-Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania, which reconstructs the death of six-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab who was killed last year by Israeli forces.

Paolo Sorrentino's "La Grazia" — about an Italian president grappling with doubts over whether to sign into law a euthanasia bill — was the first in-competition movie screened to the media on Wednesday, the latest from the director best known outside Italy for "The Great Beauty". Francis Ford Coppola will present daredevil German director Werner Herzog ("Grizzly Man", "Fitzcarraldo") with a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement for his more than 70 films over a 60-year career at the opening ceremony Wednesday.

Herzog's latest documentary, "Ghost Elephants", about a lost herd in Angola, will premiere out of competition in Venice. On the same night is the premiere of sci-fi comedy "Bugonia" from Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos, which stars Emma Stone as a pharmaceutical executive kidnapped by people who mistake her for an alien. Winners of the festival's prestigious Golden Bear top prize often go on to Oscar glory, such as "Nomadland" or "Joker" in previous years. The flurry of premieres also includes Del Toro's big-budget remake of "Frankenstein", starring Oscar Isaac, or Bigelow's political thriller "A House of Dynamite", starring Idris Elba.