THE MARQUEE
Director Julian Schnabel didn’t hide his disappointment at the Sonoma International Film Festival on Friday, March 27. During the screening of his new epic, In the Hand of Dante, roughly two dozen audience members walked out of the theater. The film, which clocks in at two and a half hours, apparently tested the patience of some festival-goers at Sonoma’s Veterans Hall.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Schnabel addressed the empty seats during a post-film discussion. The Oscar-nominated director of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly expressed his irritation with the departures, making his feelings clear to the remaining audience members. The screening was one of the marquee events of the festival’s 2026 schedule.
In the Hand of Dante features a high-profile cast including Oscar Isaac, Gal Gadot, and Jason Momoa. Based on the novel by Nick Tosches, the narrative weaves between a modern-day story and a historical plot involving the poet Dante Alighieri. While some viewers exited early, many attendees stayed for the full duration and the subsequent Q&A session with the filmmaker.
