Alongside the glitz came protest on the opening day of the prestigious Venice film festival, with demonstrators near the red carpet unfurling a “Free Palestine” and “Stop the Genocide” banner to denounce Israel’s war on Gaza, AFP reports.

A group of Italian film professionals have also called on festival organisers to openly condemn Israel’s bombardment and siege of Gaza, while a larger protest is scheduled for Saturday. The festival’s artistic director, Alberto Barbera, has called the movie showcase a place of “dialogue”, but has ruled out rescinding invitations to pro-Israel actors.

The festival has selected a film about the conflict for its main competition — “The Voice of Hind Rajab” by Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania, which has the backing of Hollywood A-listers from Pitt to Joaquin Phoenix. It will premiere next Wednesday.

Jury president Alexander Payne dodged questions about his personal views on Israel’s Gaza offensive and he questioned aloud whether films could really “change society or culture”.