The Venice Film Festival begins Wednesday, amid protests and calls to boycott Israeli actor Gal Gadot. Local groups plan to highlight Gaza with an anti-war protest during the festival’s major events.

But the president of the festival’s main jury, American filmmaker Alexander Payne, swerved questions about Gaza during a press conference on the Lido Wednesday morning.

"Quite frankly, I feel a little bit unprepared for that question. I'm here to judge and talk about cinema. My political views, I'm sure, are in agreement with many of yours. But as far as my relationship with the festival and what the industry does, I'd have to think about that for a while to give you a measured response," said the “Nebraska” director.

The group Venice4Palestine has also urged the festival to cut ties with organizations supporting the Israeli government. Festival director Alberto Barbera told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the Biennale does not make political statements or boycott artists. The festival will feature films addressing the Gaza conflict, reflecting the complex global situation.

Payne said that questions about Gaza, which is dominating the festival, should be aimed at its director, Alberto Barbera.

"I think it's almost more a question for Alberto because I think the beautiful part of being a festival director, Alberto has seen over 1,000 films and festival directors really have their fingers on the pulse, not just of cinema, but of culture and society and politics every year, from year to year, as expressed through cinema," he said.

When asked about the relevance of films today, Payne was doubtful.

"Did Lubitsch's film, 'To Be or Not to Be,' did Chaplin's 'Great Dictator' prevent World War II or the Holocaust? No. But they are documents that people were aware of at the time, even before those things happened. We have those as documents, and as such, we can try to learn from them," he told journalists at the press conference.

Payne is presiding over the main competition jury, which includes Brazilian actor Fernanda Torres, Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof, French director Stéphane Brizé, Italian director Maura Delpero, Chinese actor Zhao Tao and Romanian director Cristian Mungiu.

Hollywood's biggest stars are heading to Venice, one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world, second only to Cannes, and technically the oldest. The international event runs through September 6.