Cinema for change: Filmmakers unite against genocide

On Day 3 of the Cannes Film Festival 2025, Angelina Jolie delivered a speech honouring artists who were killed for protesting genocide. Jolie paid tribute to Fatima Hassouna, Shaden Gardood, and Victoria Amelina— artists who resisted for the cause of Gaza, Sudan, and Ukraine, respectively.

“And none of us are naïve; we know that many artists around the world lack the freedom and security to tell their stories.” Jolie continues, “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.”

Shaden Gardood, a famous Sudanese singer, was killed in a crossfire in Khartoum on May 13, 2023. Gardood lived near the national television and radio building, a focal point since the first day of the war. Victoria Amelina died at 37 on July 1, 2023, after being wounded by a Russian missile strike aimed at activists and intellectuals.

Fatima Hassouna, a 25-year-old Palestinian photojournalist, and the protagonist from the documentary Put Your Soul in Your Hand and Walk, was killed along with 10 family members in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza on April 16, 2025—a day after the film was announced as part of the Cannes ACID (Association du Cinéma Indépendant pour sa Diffusion) selection.

The festival, headlined by Robert De Niro, opened with three films depicting the devastation caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, two of which featured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Meanwhile, a petition signed by over 350 artists, including Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Guillermo del Toro, and Juliette Binoche, condemned the industry's silence against the genocide. The letter reads, “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…Let us reject the propaganda that constantly colonizes our imaginations and makes us lose a sense of humanity.”

Binoche, a French actor and Cannes jury member who signed the letter, said at the opening ceremony, “She should have been here tonight with us”, about Fatima Hassouna. The letter also briefly mentioned the October 7 massacres in Hamas in 2023.

Stars like Ralph Fiennes, Richard Gere, Mark Ruffalo, and Susan Sarandon expressed shame over the industry’s failure to speak up about Israel’s occupation and ethnic cleansing of Palestine.

As Cannes honours cinema, it reminds us to speak up for the silenced and to protect the voices who resist global wars. This is also a reminder that cinema continues to create a political impact.

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