International reporter
Clashes break out, several people are arrested as pro-Palestine activists demonstrate at Amsterdam Central Station
While the 8,000-strong audience at Locarno's Piazza Grande welcomed Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan to the stage on Saturday night, a much smaller crowd gathered across the street for an alternative film screening.
Organized by the local left-wing cooperative Coordinamento Unico a sostegno della Palestina/Coordination in support of Palestine (Cusp), a group of local activists and out-of-towners, mainly delegates from the Locarno festival, gathered around a pop-up projector for an evening of film screenings about Palestine.
The pop-up event was held on a green space next to the Teatro di Locarno, the festival’s venue for press screenings, a few metres from the large Piazza Grande screen. The event began with a book drive, selling literature on Palestinian history and merchandise such as keffiyeh scarves. The demonstration proved controversial, as many unaffiliated people walked past the event and stopped to voice their displeasure.
