Latest news with #FatimaHassouna
The National
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Solidarity with Palestine roars back on Cannes Film Festival red carpet
Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza Gaza has been front and centre at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, a year after the event largely ignored the ongoing tragedy. Actors, filmmakers and media figures have shown solidarity with Palestine and called for an end to the violence in Gaza, both on stage and on the red carpet. Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, wore a T-shirt that lists the names of nearly 5,000 children killed in Gaza to the photo call for The Six Billion Dollar Man, a documentary about his life that has its premiere at the festival. Actor Jade Oukid, star of Sirat, wore a solidarity badge depicting a watermelon slice to the press conference for the film on Wednesday. French rapper and actor Sofiane Zermani wore a keffiyeh to the premiere of Sentimental Value that same day. Unlike last year, when actors and filmmakers made only silent displays of solidarity towards Palestine after the festival put out statements to actively limit political speech, this year has seen leading festival figures become decidedly more vocal. At the opening ceremony last week, French actress and jury president Juliette Binoche paid tribute to Palestinian photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, the star of Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk, a documentary by Iranian filmmaker Sepideh Farsi. However, Binoche refrained from mentioning Israel by name. Binoche said: 'The night before her death, she learnt that the film in which she appeared was selected here at Cannes. Fatima should have been among us tonight. Art remains. It's the powerful testimony of our lives, our dreams, and we the viewers, we embrace it. May Cannes, where everything can change, contribute to that.' On the eve of the festival, more than 380 actors, directors and filmmakers accused Israel of committing 'genocide' in Gaza in an open letter. The signatories included Hollywood stars Ralph Fiennes, Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon, acclaimed Spanish director Pedro Almodovar and former Cannes winner Ruben Ostlund. Binoche added her signature two days later, along with actors Pedro Pascal, Joaquin Phoenix, Riz Ahmed and director Guillermo del Toro. All and all, it's a welcome shift for the festival, which has long prided itself on supporting humanitarian causes. Cannes, after all, was founded during the Second World War in direct protest against Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, who had taken control of the Venice Film Festival. Also unlike last year, when no Palestinian films were selected in competition, this year's Un Certain Regard section includes Palestinian brothers Arab and Tarzan Nasser's Once Upon a Time in Gaza. The film, which has its premiere on Monday, has garnered rave reviews. While Arab was thrilled with the film's reception, he told The National: 'This is the time of Gaza. They need to show something about us. And we made a very human film – not a film about heroes – because the world needs to see our humanity. 'Of course, it's important for us as creatives to be in a festival such as Cannes. It's a dream of any director from all over the world. But as a Palestinian, it means something different.' With all eyes on the annual event, which is still the most prominent platform for international cinema, every bit of representation matters – and will surely resonate across the world.
Arab News
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Arab News
Angelina Jolie remembers Fatima Hassouna at Cannes
DUBAI: US actress and Oscar winner Angelina Jolie made a special appearance at the Cannes Film Festival to present the Trophee Chopard to rising stars Marie Colomb and Finn Bennett. For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @ During the dinner ceremony, Jolie reflected on the power of international cinema to make an impact in times of global turmoil. 'I love international cinema,' Jolie told the star-studded assembly of guests. 'We are brought to other lands, into private moments, even on the battlefield, we connect and we empathize … anything that is possible to make international cinema more accessible is necessary and welcome.' 'And none of us are naive,' Jolie continued. 'We know that many artists around the world lack the freedom and security to tell their stories, and many have lost their lives like Fatima Hassouna, killed in Gaza, Shaden Gardood killed in Sudan, and Victoria Amelina killed in Ukraine, and so many other extraordinary artists who should be with us now. We owe all of those risking their lives and sharing their stories and experiences a debt of gratitude, because they have helped us to learn and to evolve.'
France 24
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- France 24
More Hollywood stars join protest letter over Gaza 'genocide'
The petition, signed by more than 370 actors and filmmakers, also denounced Israel's killing of Fatima Hassouna, the young Gaza photojournalist featured in the documentary "Put Your Soul in Your Hand and Walk", which premiered at the Cannes film festival Thursday. The organisers of the letter said the French actor Juliette Binoche, who is chairing the jury at Cannes, also added her name to the letter, along with Rooney Mara, US indie director Jim Jarmusch and "Lupin" star Omar Sy. Binoche had initially seemed to pull back from supporting it as the festival opened on Tuesday, instead delivering a tribute to Hassouna, who was killed with 10 members of her family the day after she learned the film would be shown at Cannes. "She should have been here tonight with us," an emotional Binoche said at the opening ceremony. The growing protest comes after several days of mounting bloodshed in the besieged Palestinian territory, with 120 people killed on Thursday and 50 reported dead since midnight. "Schindler's List" star Ralph Fiennes as well as Richard Gere, Mark Ruffalo, Guy Pearce, Susan Sarandon, Javier Bardem, and directors David Cronenberg, Pedro Almodovar, Alfonso Cuaron, Mike Leigh said they were "ashamed" of their industry's failure to speak out about Israel's siege of Gaza in the original letter. In her Cannes speech Tuesday Binoche also referenced the Israeli hostages taken by Palestinian group Hamas in its October 7, 2023 assault on Israel, which sparked the Gaza war. "Sicko" and "Bowling for Columbine" director Michael Moore and French actor Camille Cottin of "Call My Agent" fame are among other entertainment industry figures who have added their names to the letter since Tuesday.
Malay Mail
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
Cannes honours Palestinian photojournalist Fatima Hassouna killed in Gaza air strike
Cannes audiences honoured Fatima Hassouna, a young Palestinian photojournalist killed in an Israeli air strike, during the premiere of a documentary about her life. Filmmaker Sepideh Farsi turned over 200 days of remote conversations with Hassouna into a film that captures her resilience amid the devastation in Gaza. As violence continues to escalate in Gaza, the documentary's debut highlighted growing calls for justice and protection for Palestinian civilians and journalists. CANNES, May 16 — A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on 16 April and encouraged the audience to stand and applaud in tribute. 'To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,' Farsi said. 'There are still children to save. It must be done fast,' the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel banning foreign media from entering the besieged Palestinian territory, Farsi last year reached out to Hassouna through video calls and turned more than 200 days of conversations into the documentary Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk. In often disjointed discussions due to poor internet connection, Hassouna smiles widely and bravely says she is OK. She recounts how she dreams of eating chicken amid dire food shortages, how she lost 14 relatives including a one-year-old in Israeli bombardment, and what she photographed that day. In one of her many pictures edited into the film, a little girl laughs on her father's lap in front of a tower block reduced to rubble. But in another, a boy aims a water hose at the bloodied pavement, trying to clean away the remains of his own family. 'Normal people' A day after Hassouna was told the documentary had been selected for a sidebar section at the world's most prestigious film festival, an Israeli missile struck her home in northern Gaza, killing her and 10 relatives. Israel has claimed it was targeting the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas. 'Why would you kill someone and decimate an entire family just because she was taking photos?' Farsi told AFP. 'They were normal people. Her father was a taxi driver, she was a photographer, her sister was a painter and her little brother was 10 years old,' said Farsi. People mourn for the victims of Israeli strikes on Jabalia, at the Indonesian hospital in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip on May 15, 2025. — AFP pic 'My heart goes out to her mother, who lost six of her children, her husband and her home.' On Thursday, British filmmaker Ken Loach — a double Palme d'Or winner — called on people via X to honour Hassouna and fellow Palestinian journalists 'who gave their lives to bear witness to mass murder'. Tens of thousands have been killed in Gaza and an aid blockade threatens famine, while Israeli leaders continue to express a desire to empty the territory of Palestinians as part of the war sparked by Hamas's unprecedented 7 October 2023 attack. Reporters Without Borders estimates around 200 journalists have been killed in 18 months of Israeli strikes on Gaza. 'Reality caught up with us' As the Gaza death toll mounts, with rescuers saying 120 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Thursday alone, the conflict has cast a shadow over Cannes. Several actors have walked its red carpet wearing Palestinian flags pinned to their jackets, while others have sported a yellow ribbon for Israeli hostages still held in Gaza. Exiled Gazan filmmakers Arab and Tarzan Nasser will on Monday screen Once Upon a Time in Gaza, a portrait of two friends set in 2007, the year Hamas began tightening its grip on the territory. On the eve of the festival, Schindler's List actor Ralph Fiennes and Hollywood star Richard Gere were among more than 380 figures to slam what they see as silence over 'genocide' in Gaza. The English Patient actor Juliette Binoche, who heads the main competition jury, paid homage to Hassouna on opening night. Sepideh said she had believed until the very end that Hassouna 'would survive, that she would come (to Cannes), that the war would stop. 'But reality caught up with us,' she said. — AFP
Al Arabiya
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Al Arabiya
‘I thought she'd survive': Story of slain Gaza photojournalist touches Cannes
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, film maker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. 'To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,' Farsi said. 'There are still children to save. It must be done fast,' the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel banning foreign media from entering the besieged Palestinian territory, Farsi last year reached out to Hassouna through video call, and turned more than 200 days of conversations into the documentary 'Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk.' In often disjointed discussions due to bad internet connection, Hassouna smiles widely and bravely says she is ok. She recounts how she dreams of eating chicken amid dire food shortages, how she lost 14 relatives including a one-year-old in Israeli bombardment, and what she photographed that day. In one of her many pictures edited into the film, a little girl laughs on her father's lap in front of a tower block reduced to rubble. But in another, a boy aims a water hose at the bloodied pavement, trying to clean away the remains of his own family. 'Normal people' A day after Hassouna was told the documentary had been selected for a sidebar section at the world's most prestigious film festival, an Israeli missile pummelled her home in northern Gaza, killing her and 10 relatives. Israel has claimed it was targeting Palestinian militant group Hamas. 'Why would you kill someone and decimate an entire family just because she was taking photos?' Farsi told AFP. 'They were normal people. Her father was a taxi driver, she was a photographer, her sister was a painter and her little brother was 10 years old,' said Farsi. 'My heart goes out to her mother, who lost six of her children, her husband and her home.' On Thursday, British filmmaker Ken Loach -- a double Palme d'Or winner -- on X called on people to honor Hassouna and fellow Palestinian journalists 'who gave their lives to bear witness to mass murder.' Tens of thousands have been killed in Gaza and an aid blockade threatens famine, while Israeli leaders continue to express a desire to empty the territory of Palestinians as part of the war sparked by Hamas's unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack. Reporters Without Borders estimates around 200 journalists have been killed in 18 months of Israeli strikes on Gaza. 'Reality caught up with us' As the Gaza death toll mounts, with rescuers saying 120 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Thursday alone, the conflict has cast a shadow over Cannes. Several actors have walked its red carpet wearing Palestinian flags pinned to their jackets, while others have sported a yellow ribbon for Israeli hostages still held in Gaza. Exiled Gazan film makers Arab and Tarzan Nasser will on Monday screen 'Once Upon a Time in Gaza,' a portrait of two friends set in 2007, the year Hamas started tightening its grip on the territory. On the eve of the festival, 'Schindler's List' actor Ralph Fiennes and Hollywood star Richard Gere were among more than 380 figures to slam what they see as silence over 'genocide' in Gaza. 'The English Patient' actor Juliette Binoche, who heads the main competition jury, paid homage to Hassouna on opening night. Sepideh said she had believed until the very end that Hassouna 'would survive, that she would come (to Cannes), that the war would stop. 'But reality caught up with us,' she said.
