14-05-2025
Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, David Cronenberg & Javier Bardem Join 380 Cinema Figures In Open Letter Condemning Silence Over Gaza
More than 350 film world figures, including Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon and Javier Bardem, have published an open letter on the eve of the Cannes Film Festival condemning 'silence' over the deadly impact of Israel's ongoing military campaign in Gaza.
The letter, published on the website of France's Libération newspaper on Monday evening, was headed 'In Cannes, the horror Gaza must not be silenced'. It was addressed 'For Fatem', in memory of 25-year-old Gaza artist and photojournalist Fatima Hassouna.
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The young woman was killed in an Israeli airstrike in mid-April just 24 hours after it was announced a documentary exploring her life in the Gaza Strip would world premiere in the Cannes. Ten of her relatives, including her pregnant sister, were killed in same strike.
'She was a Palestinian freelance photojournalist. She was targeted by the Israeli army on 16 April, 2025, the day after it was announced that Sepideh Farsi's film Put Your Soul On Your Hand And Walk, in which she was the star, had been selected in the ACID section of the Cannes Film Festival. She was about to get married,' read the letter.
'Since the terrible massacres of 7 October 2023, no foreign journalist has been authorised to enter the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army is targeting civilians. More than 200 journalists have been deliberately killed. Writers, filmmakers and artists are being brutally murdered.'
Israel's bombing and invasion of Gaza began in October 2023 in response to Hamas's October 7 attacks on southern Israel, which killed 1,200 people and resulted in the taking of 251 hostages.
Eighteen months on, at least 52,600 people have been killed by Israeli military action, according to figures released by the Hamas-run Gaza health authority, while the 2.4 million population is also facing severe food shortages due to a two month blockade of essential supplies by Israel.
The letter was published just hours after Hamas released Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, in what it said was a gesture of goodwill ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to the Middle East, which does not include Israel. Around 58 hostages are still missing in Gaza, with around 24 of them still believed to be alive.
Further signatories include Pedro Almodóvar, Javier Bardem, Leïla Bekhti, Kaouther Ben Hania, David Cronenberg, Costa-Gavras, Julie Delpy, Alice Diop, Xavier Dolan, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Nicole Garcia, Jonathan Glazer, Alain Guiraudie, Annemarie Jacir, Yórgos Lánthimos, Nadav Lapid, Mike Leigh, Boris Lojkine, Kleber Mendonça, Viggo Mortensen, Laura Poitras, Ruben Östlund, Mark Ruffalo and Ira Sachs.
The letter also highlighted the case of Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal, co-director of Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, with Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra and Rachel Szor, who was attacked by Israeli settlers and then kidnapped by the army in late March, before being released under international pressure.
'The Oscar Academy's lack of support for Hamdan Ballal sparked outrage among its own members and it had to publicly apologise for its inaction,' read the letter, referring to a U-turn by the body.
'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. What is the point of our professions if not to draw lessons from history, to make films that are committed, if we are not present to protect oppressed voices? Why this silence?'
Read the full letter here:
For Fatem
Fatma Hassona (Fatem) was 25 years old.
She was a Palestinian freelance photojournalist. She was targeted by the Israeli army on 16 April 2025, the day after it was announced that Sepideh Farsi's film PUT YOUR SOUL ON YOUR HAND AND WALK, in which she was the star, had been selected in the ACID section of the Cannes Film Festival.
She was about to get married.
Ten of her relatives, including her pregnant sister, were killed by the same Israeli strike.
Since the terrible massacres of 7 October 2023, no foreign journalist has been authorised to enter the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army is targeting civilians. More than 200 journalists have been deliberately killed. Writers, film-makers and artists are being brutally murdered.
At the end of March, Palestinian film-maker Hamdan Ballal, who won an Oscar for his film NO OTHER LAND, co directed by Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra and Rachel Szor, was brutally attacked by Israeli settlers and then kidnapped by the army, before being released under international pressure. The Oscar Academy's lack of support for Hamdan Ballal sparked outrage among its own members and it had to publicly apologise for its inaction.
We are ashamed of such passivity.
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?
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.
What is the point of our professions if not to draw lessons from history, to make films that are committed, if we are not present to protect oppressed voices?
Why this silence?
The far right, fascism, colonialism, anti-trans and anti-LGBTQIA+, sexist, racist, islamophobic and anti-Semitic 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.
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 colonises our imaginations and makes us lose our sense of humanity.
For Fatem, for all those who die in indifference.
Cinema has a duty to carry their messages, to reflect our societies.
Let's act before it's too late.
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