News Flash
CANNES, France, May 23, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - France's Catherine Deneuve has joined over 900 cinema figures who have signed an open letter denouncing alleged "genocide" in Gaza and the movie industry's failure to speak up about it, organisers told AFP on Friday.
The petition began circulating during the buildup to the Cannes film festival and had garnered around 380 names including "Schindler's List" star Ralph Fiennes when the event kicked off on May 13.
An update issued by organisers Friday included more than 900 names, including Deneuve, British director Danny Boyle and Swedish actor Gustaf Skarsgard.
The initiative, called "Artists for Fatem", was sparked by the killing of Palestinian photojournalist Fatima ("Fatem") Hassouna, who was the subject of a documentary that premiered at Cannes week.
Hassouna, 25, was killed in an Israeli air strike along with 10 relatives in her family home in northern Gaza last month, the day after the documentary was announced as part of the ACID Cannes selection.
"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," the open letter says.
Other signatories include Juliette Binoche, who is chairing the jury at Cannes, Rooney Mara, Jonathan Glazer, US indie director Jim Jarmusch, "Lupin" star Omar Sy, Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Pedro Almodovar and Mark Ruffalo.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who is in Cannes to promote a documentary about his life, has also signed the letter, organisers said Friday.
He posed for photographers on Tuesday with a T-shirt bearing the names of killed Gaza children.
On Thursday, Gaza's health ministry said at least 3,613 people had been killed in the territory since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 53,762, mostly civilians.
Hamas's October 2023 attack that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
