Cardinal Pizzaballa Surprise Film Festival Message "This war must end, it's time to stop it" - "The violence we are witnessing is ... dehumanizing language."



On Saturday evening Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa gave a surprise video message from the Holy Land to the 82nd Venice Film Festival, at the conclusion of the awards ceremony. The Patriarch of Jerusalem's appeal followed the Grand Jury Prize being given to the film The Voice of Hind Rajab (see clip below) , by Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania, who dedicated the award "to the Palestinian Red Crescent and to all those who are trying to save lives in Gaza, risking their own lives," while the Golden Lion went to director Jim Jarmusch for Father, Mother, Sister, Brother.

At the pre-opening of the Exhibition on August 26th, the President Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, entrusted a message of peace for Gaza to the parish priest of Marghera, Fr. Nandino Capovilla, a priest who had been active in the Holy Land for years and was expelled from Israel on August 12th.

Buttafuoco then closed the circle this evening, leaving the final word to the authoritative voice of Cardinal Pizzaballa. 
"We are living through a dramatic and divisive moment for us, and we see it all over the world," the Patriarch said. "You know the news of what we are experiencing; the images are deeply moving, they speak of death, pain, and destruction. We are so filled with pain that there seems to be no room for that of others, a climate of ever-deepening hatred among the Jewish and Palestinian populations. The violence we are witnessing is a violent and dehumanizing language. This war must end, it's time to stop it, but the end we hope for will not be the end of conflict and pain ."

Pizzaballa then called for the commitment of the cultural world, saying he was "certain that Venice can make a positive contribution to peace through words and images. Culture and language can then reach politics." Pizzaballa's words of truth on the stage of a Film Festival, as Buttafuoco emphasized, has become a voice for filmmakers from around the world. "We believers, those who create culture, must work hard for a different narrative," the cardinal concluded. "We must have the courage to embrace new perspectives and new ideas that can impact society and politics. I believe in it, and we need your help."
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