On the first day of the 2023 Venice Film Festival, a pigeon went viral after walking the red carpet. It was an unusually quiet opening night for the typically star-studded showcase—Luca Guadagnino’s, which had been due to open the historic 80th edition, had dropped out as a result of the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes and so, instead of its stars Zendaya and Josh O’Connor striking a pose, we had photographers clamoring to capture a bird taking flight.
Jury members Laura Poitras, Martin McDonagh, Santiago Mitre, Damien Chazelle, Shu Qi, Jane Campion, Gabriele Mainetti, Saleh Bakri, and Mia Hansen-Løve at the opening press conference.
Both visual and verbal echoes of support continued right up until the end of the festival. Jessica Chastain, who was promoting Michel Franco’son the penultimate day of the showcase, attended her press conference in a “SAG-AFTRA on Strike” T-shirt. “I was incredibly nervous to be here today, and actually there are some people on my team who advised me against it,” the actor admitted. “I’m very aware of how lucky I am.