Julian Schnabel Film Prompts Walkouts and Tense Q&A at Sonoma Festival

At the 29th Sonoma International Film Festival, a screening of Julian Schnabel's new film 'In the Hand of Dante' on March 27, 2026, was marked by numerous audience departures. Approximately two dozen viewers left during the 2.5-hour runtime, with some exiting in the first hour and others later. The film, which features a cast including Oscar Isaac, Gal Gadot, John Malkovich, Gerard Butler, Jason Momoa, Al Pacino, and Martin Scorsese, adapts Nick Tosches' 2002 novel. It blends thriller elements with spiritual themes, following a writer hired to authenticate a possible original manuscript of Dante Alighieri's 'The Divine Comedy'. Following the screening, a discussion moderated by Sundance Film Festival Director Eugene Hernandez turned contentious as Schnabel addressed the walkouts. The director, seated with musician Tom Waits, remarked on the disruption, contrasting it with the standing ovation the film received at its Venice Film Festival premiere last year. Schnabel also commented on a cell phone ringing during the screening and criticized the venue's exit doors for being noisy. The film, which marks Schnabel's first directorial effort since 2018's 'At Eternity's Gate', currently holds a 43% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and was recently acquired by Netflix. The Sonoma festival ran from March 25 to March 29, with venues including Veterans Hall, where this screening took place.