logo
Hollywood stars condemn Gaza 'genocide' on eve of Cannes Festival

Hollywood stars condemn Gaza 'genocide' on eve of Cannes Festival

News.com.au12-05-2025

More than 350 figures from the cinema world including Hollywood stars Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon condemned "genocide" in Gaza in an open letter published Monday on the eve of the Cannes Festival.
"We cannot remain silent while genocide is taking place in Gaza," read the letter initiated by several pro-Palestinian activist groups and published in French newspaper Liberation and US magazine Variety.
The signatories, which include acclaimed Spanish director Pedro Almodovar and former Cannes winner Ruben Ostlund, decried the death of Gazan photojournalist Fatima Hassouna.
Hassouna, 25, is the subject of a documentary which will premiere in Cannes on Thursday by Iranian director Sepideh Farsi, titled "Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk".
Hassouna was killed along with 10 relatives in an Israeli air strike on her family home in northern Gaza last month, the day after the documentary was announced as part of the ACID Cannes selection.
Farsi welcomed the impact of her film but called on Cannes Festival organisers to denounce Israel's ongoing bombardment of the devastated Palestinian territory.
"There needs to be a real statement," she told AFP. "Saying 'the festival isn't political' makes no sense."
This year's Cannes jury president Juliette Binoche was initially said by organisers to have signed the petition, but her spokeswoman told AFP she had not endorsed it and her name was not published by Liberation.
Other signatories include Jonathan Glazer, the British director of Jewish origin who won an Oscar for his 2023 Auschwitz drama "The Zone of Interest", as well as US star Mark Ruffalo and Spanish actor Javier Bardem.
- War programming -
The Cannes Festival kicks off Tuesday on the French Riviera, with an opening ceremony headlined by Robert De Niro and three films showing the devastation of Russia's war on Ukraine.
Two documentaries featuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and a third film shot on the brutal frontlines of Europe's biggest war in 80 years are to be screened on a "Ukraine Day" of programming.
It is "a reminder of the commitment of artists, authors and journalists to tell the story of this conflict in the heart of Europe", the festival said.
Nothing similar has been planned for the war in Gaza, but the film on Hassouna is set to "honour" her memory, organisers have said previously.
Gazan filmmakers Arab and Tarzan Nasser are also set to showcase their fiction feature set in 2007 in the Palestinian territory in one of the secondary sections of the festival.
The opening film on Tuesday evening is "Leave One Day" by newcomer French director Amelie Bonnin before Hollywood heavyweight De Niro receives an honorary Palme d'Or.
- Depardieu -
De Niro is one of the most outspoken critics of Donald Trump in the American cinema world, with the "Taxi Driver" star often struggling to find words harsh enough for the US president.
Trump has made himself one of the main talking-points in Cannes after announcing on May 5 that he wanted 100-percent tariffs on movies "produced in foreign lands".
The idea sent shockwaves through the film world, although few insiders or experts understand how such a policy could be implemented.
Cannes director Thierry Fremaux talked up the festival's "rich" American film programme on Monday, with movies from Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater, Ari Aster and Kelly Reichardt in the main competition.
"American cinema remains great cinema. The United States remains a great country of cinema," he said.
Off-screen news in France is also likely to overshadow the red-carpet action in Cannes on Tuesday, with French film icon Gerard Depardieu facing a verdict in a sexual harassment case in Paris.
Depardieu, who has acted in more than 200 films and television series, is the highest-profile figure caught up in France's response to the #MeToo movement against sexual violence.
- Cruise in town -
While independent cinema forms the core of the Cannes festival, organisers also hand over part of the programme to major Hollywood studios to promote their blockbusters.
Tom Cruise is set to return to the Riviera for the premiere of the latest instalment of his "Mission: Impossible" franchise on Thursday, three years after he lit up the festival while promoting "Top Gun: Maverick".
The festival will also see a series of high-profile debut films from actors-turned-directors, including "Eleanor the Great" from Scarlett Johansson and "The Chronology of Water" by Kristen Stewart.
Organisers on Monday denied reports that they had banned provocative near-nude dresses from the red carpet.
However, "full nudity on the red carpet" has been formally outlawed, "in keeping with French law".

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Brisbane news live: New tobacco rules coming to Queensland
Brisbane news live: New tobacco rules coming to Queensland

Sydney Morning Herald

timean hour ago

  • Sydney Morning Herald

Brisbane news live: New tobacco rules coming to Queensland

Latest posts Pinned post from 7.21am 'Watch this space': New tobacco rules coming to Queensland More laws to crack down on the booming illegal tobacco trade in Queensland have been foreshadowed by the premier. It comes weeks after new legislation, increasing penalties for sale of black market cigarettes and giving health authorities additional powers, was announced by the state government. 'Our results so far show that we've made a reasonably good start on it,' David Crisafulli says. Loading 'The minister has stood before you a couple of times and shown some pretty good steps forward, and we are about to embark on more changes. 'Watch this space.' He did not elaborate on the plans, and declined to say if the state would follow the lead of NSW and draft police in the crackdown. Queensland Health is currently responsible for enforcing cigarette laws. In November, this masthead revealed importers were flooding the market with more illegal tobacco than ever before. More than 5.2 million cigarettes and 1.2 tonnes of loose tobacco were seized from Queensland retailers over just 12 weeks from July 2024. 7.15am Shiver in the River City Brrr-isbane shivered through a wintry night and is set to face a cold, yet sunny, Tuesday. And the rest of the week is forecast to feel much the same, with several nights predicted to fall into single-digit temperatures. Here's what the weather has in store for the week ahead: 7.13am While you were sleeping Here's what's making news further afield this morning: In his first major speech since the election, Anthony Albanese promises Labor will focus on urgent necessities in its second term – and rebuilding trust in government. A federal environment protection agency is back on the agenda as a controversial gas project approval brings focus to the government's long list of overdue environmental reforms. US President Donald Trump endorsed arresting California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom amid the fallout from violent riots in Los Angeles. Trump claimed the protesters in America's second-largest city were 'professional agitators, they're insurrectionists, they're bad people, they should be in jail'. 'The confrontations on the streets of LA are not episodic or random,' writes Political and International Editor Peter Hartcher. 'They are likely the opening scenes of a new phase in US history.' A Gaza-bound aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists has arrived at an Israeli port after Israeli forces stopped and detained them, enforcing a longstanding blockade of the Palestinian territory that has been tightened during the Israel-Hamas war. Think gluten makes you sick? A new test could tell you for sure.

Brisbane news live: New tobacco rules coming to Queensland
Brisbane news live: New tobacco rules coming to Queensland

The Age

timean hour ago

  • The Age

Brisbane news live: New tobacco rules coming to Queensland

Latest posts Pinned post from 7.21am 'Watch this space': New tobacco rules coming to Queensland More laws to crack down on the booming illegal tobacco trade in Queensland have been foreshadowed by the premier. It comes weeks after new legislation, increasing penalties for sale of black market cigarettes and giving health authorities additional powers, was announced by the state government. 'Our results so far show that we've made a reasonably good start on it,' David Crisafulli says. Loading 'The minister has stood before you a couple of times and shown some pretty good steps forward, and we are about to embark on more changes. 'Watch this space.' He did not elaborate on the plans, and declined to say if the state would follow the lead of NSW and draft police in the crackdown. Queensland Health is currently responsible for enforcing cigarette laws. In November, this masthead revealed importers were flooding the market with more illegal tobacco than ever before. More than 5.2 million cigarettes and 1.2 tonnes of loose tobacco were seized from Queensland retailers over just 12 weeks from July 2024. 7.15am Shiver in the River City Brrr-isbane shivered through a wintry night and is set to face a cold, yet sunny, Tuesday. And the rest of the week is forecast to feel much the same, with several nights predicted to fall into single-digit temperatures. Here's what the weather has in store for the week ahead: 7.13am While you were sleeping Here's what's making news further afield this morning: In his first major speech since the election, Anthony Albanese promises Labor will focus on urgent necessities in its second term – and rebuilding trust in government. A federal environment protection agency is back on the agenda as a controversial gas project approval brings focus to the government's long list of overdue environmental reforms. US President Donald Trump endorsed arresting California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom amid the fallout from violent riots in Los Angeles. Trump claimed the protesters in America's second-largest city were 'professional agitators, they're insurrectionists, they're bad people, they should be in jail'. 'The confrontations on the streets of LA are not episodic or random,' writes Political and International Editor Peter Hartcher. 'They are likely the opening scenes of a new phase in US history.' A Gaza-bound aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists has arrived at an Israeli port after Israeli forces stopped and detained them, enforcing a longstanding blockade of the Palestinian territory that has been tightened during the Israel-Hamas war. Think gluten makes you sick? A new test could tell you for sure. 6.52am The top news stories this morning Good morning, welcome to Brisbane Times' live news coverage for Tuesday, June 10. Today we can expect a sunny day and a top temperature of just 19 degrees. In this morning's local headlines: A businessman from West End supposedly made $6.4 million in just over a year through a classic car dealership. Authorities say the money was being laundered. As winter settles in, advocates are again asking for all levels of government to step up to fight the epidemic of homelessness. Yet it has all been about crackdowns on rough sleeping. will run them out of business.

Gaza-bound aid boat with Greta Thunberg on board arrives in Israel after seizure
Gaza-bound aid boat with Greta Thunberg on board arrives in Israel after seizure

Sydney Morning Herald

timean hour ago

  • Sydney Morning Herald

Gaza-bound aid boat with Greta Thunberg on board arrives in Israel after seizure

Jerusalem: A Gaza-bound aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists arrived at an Israeli port after Israeli forces stopped and detained them, enforcing a longstanding blockade of the Palestinian territory that has been tightened during the Israel-Hamas war. The boat, accompanied by Israel's navy, arrived in the port of Ashdod, Israel's Foreign Ministry a post on X early on Tuesday (AEST). It published a photo of Thunberg on social media after disembarking. The 12 activists are undergoing medical checks to ensure that they are in good health, the ministry said. They were expected to be held at a detention facility in the city of Ramle before being deported, according to Adalah, a legal rights group representing them. The activists had set out to protest Israel's ongoing military campaign in the Gaza Strip, which is among the deadliest and most destructive since World War II, and its restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid. Both have put the territory of around 2 million Palestinians at risk of famine. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which organised the voyage, said the activists were 'kidnapped by Israeli forces' while trying to deliver desperately needed aid. 'The ship was unlawfully boarded, its unarmed civilian crew abducted and its life-saving cargo — including baby formula, food and medical supplies — confiscated,' it said in a statement. It said the ship was seized in international waters about 200 kilometres from Gaza. Israel's Foreign Ministry portrayed the voyage as a public relations stunt, saying in a social media post that 'the 'selfie yacht' of the 'celebrities' is safely making its way to the shores of Israel'. It said the activists would return to their home countries and the aid would be sent to Gaza through established channels. It circulated footage of what appeared to be Israeli military personnel handing out sandwiches and water to the activists, who were wearing life vests.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store