Gaza’s dark shadow over the Cannes Festival

Steve Told Us –

Shortly before the opening of the Cannes 2025 Film Festival, hundreds of cinema personalities issued a vibrant appeal denouncing the cultural world’s silence in the face of the violence in Gaza. It also paid tribute to Fatma Hassouna, the Palestinian photojournalist killed by an Israeli strike, 24 hours after the announcement of the selection of a film inspired by her life.

Fatma Hassouna, heroine of a film… and victim of an Israeli strike

Fatma Hassouna was just 25 years old. A young Palestinian freelance photojournalist, her work and commitment embodied the courage of an entire generation. On April 16, 2025, she was killed by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, on the very eve of the selection of Sepideh Farsi’s film Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk in the ACID program at the Cannes Film Festival. She was the heroine.
Fatma was about to get married. Ten members of her family, including her pregnant sister, perished in the same strike. Yet another tragedy in a war where civilians pay an unbearable price. Since October 7, 2023, the date of the Hamas attacks on Israel, foreign journalists have been banned from entering Gaza. Over 200 Palestinian journalists have been killed in the conflict, often deliberately targeted.

World cinema stars against silence and impunity

Emotions ran high on the Croisette. In an article published by Libération on May 12, the day before the Festival opened, 380 artists from around the world – including Pedro Almodóvar, Susan Sarandon, Richard Gere, Ruben Östlund and David Cronenberg – denounced the “silence” of the world of culture in the face of the “genocide” taking place in Gaza.
They pay tribute not only to Fatma Hassouna, but also to Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal, who recently won an Oscar for No Other Land, and who was attacked by Israeli settlers at the end of March before being briefly detained by the army. The signatories were shocked by the Oscars Academy’s lack of reaction: “Such passivity shames us.”
Why does the cinema, so often engaged, seem to ignore the reality of Gaza, they ask? They call for an awakening, for clear support: “Cinema has a duty to carry their messages.”

One war, overwhelming figures

According to an AFP count, the Hamas attacks of October 7 caused the death of 1,218 people in Israel, mainly civilians. In return, Israeli reprisals claimed at least 52,862 lives in Gaza, including more than 25,000 children, according to local health authorities, a figure deemed credible by the UN.
Several NGOs, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have described Israel’s actions as “genocide”, accusations which the Hebrew state firmly rejects.

A strong political message

Beyond the red carpet and the spotlights, Cannes 2025 begins with a strong political message. A message from the world of cinema, driven by the memory of Fatma Hassouna, to break the silence and denounce injustice. It’s a call to face up to the world’s tragedies, and to give a voice to those we try to silence.

Timmothy Jimenez

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