On the eve of Cannes Festival 2025, more than 350 Hollywood stars condemned the silence over “genocide” in Gaza in an open letter released Monday, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“We cannot remain silent while genocide is taking place in Gaza,” read the letter, which was written by pro-Palestinian activists and published by French newspaper Libération and US magazine Variety.
Prominent figures from Hollywood and cinema industry signed the letter, most notably Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon. The signatories also included other stars, such as Mark Ruffalo, Javier Bardem, Spanish director Pedro Almodovar and director and former Cannes winner Ruben Ostlund.
Moreover, the letter denounced the death of Gazan photojournalist, Fatima Hassouna, who were killed in an Israeli airstrike last month, alongside 10 other members of her family.
“She was a Palestinian freelance photojournalist. She was targeted by the Israeli army on 16 April, 2025, she was about to get married,” the letter said. “More than 200 journalists have been deliberately killed. Writers, filmmakers and artists are being brutally murdered,” the letter added.
Hassouna collaborated with Iranian director, Sepideh Farsi, to produce a documentary titled “Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk.” It documents the daily life of Gaza people under Israel’s ongoing bombardment. The documentary will premiere in Cannes on Thursday. Hassouna was killed a day after announcing the screening of her film in Cannes.
Farsi, the documentary’s director, urged Cannes Festival organizers to condemn Israel’s ongoing war against Gaza. “There needs to be a real statement. Saying ‘the festival isn’t political’ makes no sense,” she told AFP.
The Cannes Festival is set to kick off on Tuesday on the French Riviera. The opening ceremony will feature three documentaries on the destruction caused by the Russia-Ukraine war.
