Jessica Corbett
"Why is it
that cinema, a breeding ground for socially committed works, seems to be so
indifferent to the horror of reality and the oppression suffered by our sisters
and brothers?"
Palestinian hospital staff inspect the
destruction inside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza
Strip, following an Israeli strike early on May 13, 2025 in which
Palestinian journalist Hassan Aslih was killed along with several
others. (Photo: Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images)
On Monday, in the lead-up to the annual Cannes
Film Festival in France, nearly 400 international actors, directors, and
producers released an open letter condemning Israel's genocide in the Gaza
Strip.
The
letter—published by French newspaper Libération and U.S. magazine
Variety—begins with Fatma Hassona a 25-year-old Palestinian freelance
photojournalist killed in an Israeli military strike on April 16, 2025, just a
day after it was announced that Sepideh Farsi's film Put Your Soul on Your Hand
and Walk, in which she stars, was selected to premiere at a section of the
festival.
Just weeks
earlier, in March, "Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal, who won an Oscar
for his film No Other Land, was brutally attacked by Israeli settlers and then
kidnapped by the army, before being released under international
pressure," the letter details, noting that the Academy of Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences was pushed to apoloize for not adequately supporting him.
"We are
ashamed of such passivity," asserted the signatories, including Pedro
Almodóvar, Javier Bardem, Ralph and Sophie Fiennes, Richard Gere, Jonathan
Glazer, Viggo Mortensen, Cynthia Nixon, Ruben Östlund, Guy Pearce, Laura
Poitras, Mark Ruffalo, and Susan Sarandon.
"Why is it
that cinema, a breeding ground for socially committed works, seems to be so
indifferent to the horror of reality and the oppression suffered by our sisters
and brothers?" they asked. "As artists and cultural players, we
cannot remain silent while genocide is taking place in Gaza and this
unspeakable news is hitting our communities hard."
In addition to
condemning silence in the face of genocide, they argued that "far-right,
fascism, colonialism, anti-trans and anti-LGBTQIA+, sexist, racist,
islamophobic, and antisemitic movements are waging their battle on the
battlefield of ideas, attacking publishing, cinema, and universities, and
that's why we have a duty to fight."
"Let's
refuse to let our art be an accomplice to the worst," the letter declares.
"Let us rise up. Let us name reality. Let us collectively dare to look at
it with the precision of our sensitive hearts, so that it can no longer be
silenced and covered up. Let us reject the propaganda that constantly colonizes
our imaginations and makes us lose our sense of humanity."
Iranian filmmaker Sepideh Farsi looks at a portrait of the late
Palestinian photographer Fatima Hassona at her home in Paris, France on May 5,
2025. (Photo: Joel Saget/AFP via Getty Images)
Farsi—who also
signed the letter—welcomed the impact of her film featuring Hassona but also
called on Cannes organizers to denounce Israel's ongoing assault on Gaza, which
has killed over 52,900 Palestinians since October 2023 and left the enclave's
more than 2 million survivors struggling to access essentials, due to an
Israeli blockade on humanitarian aid.
"There
needs to be a real statement," Farsi toldAgence France-Presse.
"Saying 'the festival isn't political' makes no sense."
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