Jessica Chastain backs strikes as she closes political Venice fest

Oscar-winner Jessica Chastain arrived at the Venice Film Festival Friday with a provocative new film, "Memory", and an impassioned message in support of the Hollywood strikes by actors and writers.

Chastain said she was "incredibly nervous" about attending the festival amid the weeks-long strikes over pay and concerns over the use of AI, which have brought Hollywood to a standstill.

But actors were too often told "to be quiet in order to protect future working opportunities", she said.

"That is the environment that has allowed workplace abuse to go unchecked for many decades and it's also the environment that has saddled members of my union with unfair contracts," said Chastain, wearing a T-shirt supporting the unions.

Her new film, "Memory", by Mexican director Michel Franco, is about a recovering alcoholic who befriends someone with dementia.

Since it was made outside the Hollywood studio system, it received a union exemption to the strike ban on promotional work.

Several stars have been forced to skip Venice due to the strike, but the festival has still seen some instant Oscar frontrunners and hard-hitting political dramas at its 80th edition, which concludes Saturday.

Agence France Presse