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CairoScene
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CairoScene
Arab Cinema at Cannes 2025: Seven Films That Stood Out
Four wins, five countries, seven selections: here are the Arabic films that were honoured at the Cannes Film Festival. May 25, 2025 Arab cinema had a commanding presence at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, with seven films selected across the official lineup and parallel sections, and four winning major awards. From restored milestones to urgent new works, this year's entries from Palestine, Egypt, Iraq, Algeria and Morocco offered unflinching perspectives on war, repression, and the quiet moments that define human resilience… Sirât | Jury Prize — Main Competition Director: Óliver Laxe A father and son wander through the trance-soaked deserts of Morocco searching for a missing daughter. What unfolds is less a quest than a descent—into grief, memory, and spiritual reckoning. Once Upon a Time in Gaza | Best Director — Un Certain Regard Directors: Tarzan & Arab Nasser Set in 2007 Gaza, a student and a falafel vendor are pulled into the drug trade. Darkly funny and deeply political, the film earned the Nasser brothers the top directing prize in Un Certain Regard. The President's Cake | People's Choice Award — Directors' Fortnight Director: Hasan Hadi In 1990s Iraq, a young girl is assigned to bake Saddam Hussein's birthday cake. In a nation strangled by fear, a simple pastry becomes a question of survival. I'm Glad You're Dead Now | Short Film — Palme d'Or Director: Tawfeek Barhom Two brothers return to their childhood island. A long-buried secret awaits them, forcing a reckoning with the trauma they've spent their lives avoiding. Put Your Soul On Your Hand and Walk | ACID Selection Director: Sepideh Farsi Constructed through video calls with a young woman in Gaza, this documentary captures everyday life under Israeli bombardment. Its subject, Palestinian photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike—along with nine relatives—just one day after the film was selected for Cannes. The festival issued a public statement honouring her and condemning the violence. Saïd Effendi (1958) | Cannes Classics Director: Kameran Hosni A rare restoration from Iraq's cinematic archive, 'Saïd Effendi' returned to the screen this year as part of Cannes' celebration of global film heritage. Waqai Sinin Al-Djamr (Chronicles of the Years of Fire, 1975) | Cannes Classics Director: Mohamed Lakhdar Hamina Algeria's only Palme d'Or winner, restored for a new generation. Its return marked 50 years since the film first stunned Cannes in 1975.
CairoScene
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CairoScene
Review: Gaza Doc ‘Put Your Soul On Your Hand & Walk' Shook Cannes
Through Farsi's lens, we are left with more than just a memory of Palestinian photojournalist Fatma Hassona. Put Your Soul On Your Hand And Walk – The Film That Shook Cannes One of the most talked-about films at this year's Cannes Film Festival is Put Your Soul On Your Hand And Walk, a documentary by Iranian director Sepideh Farsi. Just two days after it was announced in the ACID (Association for the Distribution of Independent Cinema) line-up, I received an email from the programming filmmakers addressed to critics and journalists. Here are some excerpts from the letter: 'We, filmmakers and members of the ACID team, met Fatma Hassona when we discovered Sepideh Farsi's film Put your soul on your hand and walk during the Cannes programme. Her smile was as magical as her tenacity: bearing witness, photographing Gaza, distributing food despite the bombs, mourning and hunger. We heard her story, we rejoiced at each of her appearances to see her alive, we feared for her. Yesterday, we were shocked to learn that an Israeli missile had targeted her building, killing Fatma and her family. We had watched and programmed a film in which this young woman's life force seemed like a miracle. This is no longer the same film that we are going to support and present in all theaters, starting with Cannes. All of us, filmmakers and spectators alike, must be worthy of her light.' Farsi included some words of her own. She shared her personal reaction to the news: 'When I heard the news yesterday, I first refused to believe it, thinking it was a mistake, like the one a few months ago when a family with the same surname had perished in an Israeli attack. Incredulous, I called her then sent her a message, and then another one, and another one. All those bright existences were crushed by a finger that pressed on a button and dropped a bomb to erase one more house in Gaza.' Shortly afterward, filmmaker Ken Loach, a two-time Palme d'Or winner, responded with his own letter, honoring Fatma Hassona: 'Young Fatima clearly foresaw her own murder, and said 'I want a loud death'.' He then ended with a powerful call to action: 'On 15th May, the day of the screening, can we honour this courageous young woman, and her fellow Palestinian journalists, (no foreign journalist has been allowed into Gaza) who gave their lives to bear witness to mass murder. Can we all make her death as loud as possible, and insist that States carry out their duties under the Genocide Convention?' A wave of support followed. On the first day of the Cannes Film Festival, a third letter was released, denouncing the silence of Hollywood over Israel's military actions in Gaza. The statement quickly gathered over 400 celebrity signatures. Among the signatories were Joaquin Phoenix, Guillermo del Toro, and Pedro Pascal, Mark Ruffalo, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Susan Sarandon, Viggo Mortensen, Guy Pearce, Brian Cox, Pedro Almodóvar, Melissa Barrera, David Cronenberg, and others. Additional names such as Rooney Mara, Omar Sy, Peter Straughan, Boots Riley, Alice Rohrwacher, Arian Moayed, Odessa Rae, Adèle Haenel, and Noémie Merlant were added later. When asked why she hadn't signed, Cannes Jury President Juliette Binoche told a reporter, 'I cannot answer you,' before adding, 'You will maybe understand it a little later.' The cryptic response led to speculation that she had been pressured not to sign. A day later, Binoche added her name to the letter. All of this unfolded before the film had even screened. Naturally, the film's screening became one of the most sought-after tickets at Cannes. When I arrived to the screening, the first thing I noticed was the queue. It stretched two blocks down the street. Many in line were wearing kuffiyehs, turning the entrance into a powerful statement of solidarity with Palestine. Before the film started, Farsi took the stage. She fought back tears as she introduced the film. Throughout the screening, loud sobs erupted across the room. By the time the credits rolled, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Everyone in the room stood and applauded the filmmaker. She held up a large photo of Fatma raising her fist in defiance. It was, without doubt, the most emotionally charged screening I've ever witnessed at Cannes. The film is essentially told through a series of video calls between the director and the young photojournalist. What struck me most was that it focused less on the horrors of war, and more on the bond between them. I was pleasantly surprised by that. In fact, I think that's exactly why it hit so much harder. We got to know Fatma Hassona. Her warmth, her humor, her resilience. By the end, it didn't feel like we were just watching a story unfold. It felt like we were losing someone we had come to care about deeply. There's a scene towards the end that's particularly difficult to watch. It was surely added after her death. The director tells Fatma that the film has been selected for Cannes. Fatma lights up. You can see her unable to contain her joy. Farsi cautiously brings up the possible risks of the film's visibility on this big stage. She suggests relocating her family to a different building for safety, but Fatma refuses. She insists on staying, calling the place her home. What makes this moment so hard-hitting is that we, the viewers, already know what's coming. The film itself is told in a very specific and intimate way. Farsi often films the screen of her phone during video calls and records news reports playing on her television. She intercuts these 'screened screens' with photographs taken by Fatma. By embedding layers of screen-within-screen imagery, the director draws attention to the act of witnessing. The filmmaking method highlights how contemporary conflict is increasingly seen through interfaces, pixels, and social media platforms. It becomes a document of a genocide being archived in the digital age. We grow closer to Fatma through these calls. Yet, we are always reminded of the barriers that separate us from those in the front lines. These barriers are not just geographical, but technological. Their video calls constantly get disrupted by a loss of connection. The screen becomes both a portal and a partition, a channel of connection and a wall. Put Your Soul On Your Hand And Walk is not just a film. It is an elegy, a protest, and a record of resistance. It immortalizes a voice that tried to make the world see, even as that world looked away. Through Farsi's lens, we are left with more than just a memory of Fatma Hassona. We are left with an obligation. To witness. To remember. To speak. To act.
France 24
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- France 24
As Cannes gets serious about #MeToo, has French cinema finally turned a corner?
If it weren't for the ban on nudity and 'voluminous' outfits, the latest controversy to fuel talk of policing women's dress, one might struggle to recognise Cannes this year. In an unprecedented move, the Cannes Film Festival banned a French actor from walking the red carpet on Thursday for the premiere of Dominik Moll's competition entry 'Case 137', because the actor faces accusations of rape. Hours later, the independent ACID sidebar that runs parallel to the festival said it had suspended one of its vice presidents after he was publicly accused of sexual assault during a Cannes roundtable. Two days earlier, during the festival's opening ceremony, host Laurent Laffitte paid tribute to French actress Adèle Haenel, whose decision years ago to walk out on French cinema over its culture of abuse and impunity was met by industry leaders with a collective shrug. 06:40 The very same morning, a court in Paris found French film giant Gérard Depardieu guilty of groping two women on a film set and handed him a suspended jail term – in a groundbreaking verdict that Cannes jury president Juliette Binoche said would 'of course' never have happened without the #MeToo movement. All of which points to a significant shift for a festival that had only paid lip service to the #MeToo movement until last year's edition offered the first hints of awareness. It comes two years after Cannes' decision to hand Johnny Depp's comeback movie 'Jeanne du Barry' the prestigious curtain raiser slot saw more than a hundred French actors blast the festival for 'rolling out the red carpet for aggressors'. A change of rules French actors Ariane Labed and Alma Jodorowsky were among the 123 signatories – the vast majority women – of the Libération op-ed denouncing the festival in 2023. Two years on, they say the festival's radical change of stance is a win for all victims of abuse. 'We took issue with Cannes two years ago because they were clearly not up to the job,' says Labed, who has starred in several films by Yorgos Lanthimos. 'Now we're delighted to see the festival take these matters seriously.' Jodorowsky adds: 'To have to see their aggressors be showcased and honoured in all impunity is a double punishment for the victims of abuse. It's important that major institutions like Cannes ensure they don't suffer this way.' The world's most prestigious film festival has introduced new rules this year requiring movie producers to guarantee that films submitted respect the 'safety, integrity and dignity' of all contributors. Théo Navarro-Mussy, the actor who was barred from the red carpet premiere of 'Case 137', was accused of rape by three former partners in 2018, 2019 and 2020. The case was dropped last month due to lack of evidence, but French media report that the three women plan to file a civil lawsuit. 'It is because there is an appeal, and therefore the investigation is still active, that the case is not suspended,' Cannes festival director Thierry Frémaux told French magazine Télérama. 'When a legal decision becomes final, the situation changes.' The movie's director, whose previous film 'The Night of the 12th' centred on an unsolved case of femicide, said he supported the ban. 'It was the proper decision,' Moll told AP. 'Out of respect for the women, the plaintiffs.' 'Endemic' abuse The build-up to cinema's annual Riviera gathering has been overshadowed by a damning French parliamentary inquiry into the entertainment industry published in early April, which concluded that 'moral, sexist, and sexual violence in the cultural sector is systemic, endemic, and persistent'. 06:21 The six-month inquiry heard testimony from around 350 people in the film, TV, theatre and performing arts industries, including some the biggest names in French cinema. Its chair, Green Party lawmaker Sandrine Rousseau, called on Cannes to set an example in stamping out abuse. 'The Cannes Film Festival must be the place where this shift in mindset happens,' Rousseau told reporters. 'The place where we say loud and clear (...) amid the glitter and the red carpets (...) that finally, we all want things to change: every one of us, at every level of the industry.' Labed and Jodorowsky, both members of the ADA association of actors who campaign against sexual and sexist violence on film sets, agree that the festival has a special duty when it comes to cracking down on abuse. 'The film world and Cannes in particular enjoy a great deal of exposure – and this comes with a duty towards society,' says Jodorowsky, who walked the red carpet on Friday for her part in the Nathalie Portman-produced animated film 'Arco'. 'It's important to show that domination, abuse and the culture of rape are no longer acceptable.' Cult of the auteur The parliamentary inquiry owes much to the strenuous campaigning of French actor and director Judith Godrèche, whose accounts of the grooming she says she endured as a teenage actor triggered a belated #MeToo reckoning in France. Last year, Cannes screened a short film by Godrèche titled ' Moi Aussi ' ("Me Too", in French), a choral piece uniting victims of all ages, some them male, who find strength and solace in speaking out about their personal trauma. The screening marked one of the highlights of a festival that has long been accused of doing too little to foster gender parity in film and where the disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein once held court. In 2017, at the dawn of the #MeToo era, Godrèche was among the first to speak out against Weinstein, telling the New York Times that the film producer assaulted her in a hotel during the Cannes Film Festival two decades earlier, when she was 24. Since then, the press has been awash with reports of industry insiders, Cannes chauffeurs and hotel staff confirming Weinstein's predatory behaviour. For years, however, France's own Weinsteins evaded scrutiny, shielded by ingrained suspicion of the #MeToo movement as a puritanical witch-hunt imported from America – and by what film expert Geneviève Sellier describes as a 'cult of the auteur' that has long been used to excuse or cover up reprehensible behaviour. 'The cult of the auteur places artistic genius – regarded as necessarily male – above the law,' says Sellier, a professor emeritus at Bordeaux-Montaigne University who runs a blog on film and gender. 'This French tradition explains in part why the country remains largely blind to the realities of male domination and abuse.' Cautious optimism The notion that art should shield artists from scrutiny has taken a hit with the guilty verdict handed this week to Depardieu – who, as late as December 2023, was defended by French President Emmanuel Macron as a 'genius of his art' who 'makes France proud', and a victim of a 'manhunt'. Carine Durrieu Diebolt, a lawyer for one of the plaintiffs in the case, described the ruling as 'the victory of two women' and 'of all women beyond this trial'. She added: 'Today we hope to see the end of impunity for an artist in the world of cinema. (...) And today, as the Cannes Film Festival opens, I'd like the film world to spare a thought for Gérard Depardieu's victims.' 02:31 Depardieu, who is appealing the conviction, was ordered to pay a further €1,000 each to the plaintiffs over the 'excessive harshness' displayed in court by his lawyer, who sparked outrage by branding the women 'hysterical' and 'liars' working for the cause of 'rabid feminism'. The latter decision is an important step forward, says Jodorowsky, noting that the cards are still stacked against the victims in cases of sexual abuse. Last year, more than 22,000 rapes were reported in France, but fewer than 3 percent led to convictions. Expressing 'guarded optimism', Labed cautions that it is much too early to suggest the #MeToo movement has 'won'. She adds: 'We won't be satisfied until we have a comprehensive – and well-funded – policy of tackling violence against women and all forms of discrimination, whether it is based on gender, sexual orientation or race.' Words into action Likewise, much remains to be done within the film world to prevent such cases of abuse. In its final report, the parliamentary inquiry chaired by Rousseau made nearly 90 recommendations, including better safeguarding for children and women during castings and on set. It noted that the entertainment industry was often a 'talent shredder' while casting calls were 'a place of highest danger'. The key challenge now is for lawmakers and the industry to translate the report's findings into concrete action, says Sellier, noting that the 'defensive posture' adopted by many industry workers during parliamentary auditions 'begs the question of whether they have really grasped the scale of the problem'. Advocacy groups like ADA have welcomed a recent announcement by the National Centre for Cinema (CNC), which helps finance and promote French film productions, that it will expand training programmes to prevent abuse in the industry, including for festival executives. At a Cannes roundtable on Thursday, where a woman stood up to say she had been abused by an executive from the ACID independent festival, CNC director Gaëtan Bruel said the #MeToo movement had acted as an 'electroshock' forcing the film world to 'confront its darker sides'. Bruel, whose predecessor Dominique Boutonnat was forced to step down last year following a conviction for sexual assault, said the CNC might complement its current policy of financial 'incentives' for films that have gender parity on set with a policy of 'punishing' those that don't. Where are the men? Jodorowsky says she has recently witnessed progress in safeguarding actors on French film sets, spurred by the emergence of a new generation of filmmakers and actors who have greater awareness of these issues. She points to the growing practice of including so-called intimacy coordinators on film sets to ensure the well-being and consent of actors and better regulate intimate scenes. 'We've campaigned hard to ensure their work is recognised and to have a proper training programme for intimacy coordinators in film schools, because there was none in France,' she explains. 'Compared to the English-speaking world, we still have some catching up to do when it comes to making film sets truly safe environments,' adds Labed, whose directorial debut 'September & July' premiered in Cannes last year. 'But we're making progress.' Asked whether she felt that male actors were starting to play their part in denouncing and combating abuse, she answered with a straight, 'No'. 'Our male colleagues are simply not by our side. And when they're asked to testify in parliament, they do so behind closed doors,' Labed says. 'It proves that, yes, we're moving forward, but with the hand-brake pulled.'
Egypt Today
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Egypt Today
Egyptian Filmmakers Shine Bright at Cannes Film Festival as Morad Mostafa, Sawsan Youssef, Ali El Arabi, and Namir Abdel Messeeh Lead the Way
The 78th edition of the world's most prestigious film festival, Cannes, continues its activities, and this year marks a distinguished presence for Egyptian cinema through two authentic contributions that reflect the evolution of Egypt's independent film scene and its growing role in global cinema. 1. Morad Mostafa and Sawsan Youssef – Aisha Can't Fly Away (Un Certain Regard Section) Director Morad Mostafa brings Egyptian cinema back to the Un Certain Regard section after a nine-year absence. The last Egyptian film to feature in this category was Mohamed Diab's Clash, starring Nelly Karim. Aisha Can't Fly Away tells the story of Aisha, a young African migrant living in Cairo. The film follows her journey within the African migrant community and the challenges she faces while working in the healthcare sector. The film stars Pollyanna Simon, Ziad Zaza, Emad Ghoneim, and Mamdouh Saleh, and is produced by Sawsan Youssef. 2. Namir Abdel Messeeh and Ali El Arabi – The Life After Siham (ACID Cannes Official Selection) The second notable Egyptian entry is the documentary The Life After Siham, written and directed by Namir Abdel Messeeh. It has been selected for the official competition of the ACID Cannes section—one of the festival's parallel programs. Established 33 years ago, ACID is known for its artistically curated selections by leading filmmakers from around the world. The film is produced by Ambient Light, a company founded by Egyptian director and producer Ali El Arabi. Told in the first person, the film follows Namir's emotional journey as he confronts grief after the loss of his mother. Spanning more than ten years, the documentary traces his development as an artist, his struggle to accept loss, and his effort to transform pain into a cinematic tribute that honors his mother's memory and his family's legacy, while exploring a past marked by separation and exile.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cannes mourns Palestinian journalist killed in Gaza airstrike
By Hanna Rantala and Francesca Halliwell CANNES, France (Reuters) - The Cannes film community mourned Palestinian journalist Fatima Hassouna on Thursday evening, cramming into theatres to watch the documentary about her life in Gaza. She used to say this would pass, recalled director Sepideh Farsi ahead of a showing of "Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk" in the French Riviera resort town. "And it will pass. She is not here but yet she is present, they didn't manage to defeat her," Farsi said, her voice breaking. Hassouna, 25, had been determined to come to the Cannes Film Festival to see the documentary despite the difficulties posed by Israel's blockade, Farsi told Reuters ahead of the screenings. She was "glowing with joy" the day she learned the film had been selected, Farsi added. The next day, Hassouna was killed in an Israeli airstrike on her home. Her death prompted the usually apolitical festival to issue a statement mourning her as one of "the far too many victims of the violence" in the region. "Although a film is a small thing in the face of such a tragedy," its screening as part of the ACID independent film programme would be a way to honour the journalist, said the festival last month. DON'T LOOK AWAY The screenings coincide with "Nakba Day" -- when Palestinians commemorate the loss of their land following the 1948 war at the birth of the state of Israel -- as Israeli military operations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank have again displaced hundreds of thousands. The war has destroyed large swathes of Gaza and forced most of the more than 2 million people who live there to move multiple times, clinging on in tents or bombed-out houses and other makeshift shelters. Farsi said she was doing all she could to bring the film and exhibition of Hassouna's photos, which document life in Gaza amid the war, to as many people as possible. "Those who wanted to look away perhaps will now be confronted with her simplicity, her force, and she's gone now, and they know it," said the Tehran-born director. Farsi added that she received a report this week from the London-based Forensic Architecture research group that had found Hassouna had been a target. "It's hard to believe, it's like science fiction," she said. "What many people want, is for this war to stop and for the civilian population not to be targeted like this. Monstrously." The Israeli army said in a statement on Thursday that it had struck a militant in Gaza City overnight on April 16. "Prior to the strike, steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence," it said.
