Cannes 2025 Opens Amid Global Turmoil: Artists Decry Gaza ‘Genocide’, Ukraine Honoured With Documentaries
Paris: As the 78th Cannes Film Festival opens today, the iconic red carpet takes on an unusually somber tone, reflecting the violent global context overshadowing this year’s event. While organizers plan a tribute to war-torn Ukraine during the opening ceremony, more than 380 artists have signed a powerful op-ed denouncing the “silence” of the cultural world in the face of what they call a “genocide” in Gaza.
The official homage to Ukraine includes the screening of three documentaries: a portrait of President Volodymyr Zelensky, a front-line report by French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy, and a deep dive into a Ukrainian army platoon by a local filmmaker.
At the same time, an open letter published in today’s edition of Libération — co-signed by high-profile names such as Pedro Almodóvar, Susan Sarandon, Richard Gere, French actress Leïla Bekhti, two-time Palme d’Or winner Ruben Östlund, Canadian director David Cronenberg, and Spanish actor Javier Bardem — urges the film industry not to ignore Gaza.
“We artists and cultural actors cannot remain silent while a genocide is taking place in Gaza,” the letter states. It pays tribute to Palestinian photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, killed in an Israeli airstrike in mid-April, along with ten of her relatives — including her pregnant sister. Hassouna features as the subject of a documentary scheduled to be screened during the festival.
The statement also criticizes the perceived inaction of major institutions, citing the case of Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal, who was attacked by Israeli settlers in late March, just days after winning an Oscar for his documentary No Other Land. “Such passivity shames us,” the text reads.
Interestingly, French actress Juliette Binoche — president of this year’s Cannes jury — was reportedly among the original signatories of the letter, but her name does not appear in the final published list.
The artists’ statement poses a stark question to the film industry: “Why does cinema, a breeding ground for socially engaged works, seem to be uninterested in the horror of reality, the oppression suffered by our sisters and brothers?” It calls on filmmakers and cultural leaders to act and give voice to “those who die in indifference.”
Beyond politics, this year’s festival is marked by a markedly conservative dress code banning nudity, excessively voluminous outfits, and long train dresses on the red carpet. The event also finds itself under the cloud of the #MeToo movement, as French actor Gérard Depardieu was recently found guilty of sexual assault on a 2021 film set — a case bound make celebs wag tongues at the festival.
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