It was in a solemn silence that the 78th edition of the Cannes Festival was inaugurated last night, marked by a poignant speech by Juliette Binoche, president of the jury.
Dressed in an entirely white set, a sign of mourning and peace, the French actress opened the ceremony by paying a vibrant tribute to the Palestinian photojournalist Fatma Hassouna, killed on April 25 in Gaza in an Israeli strike which also cost the life of ten family members.
With a contained emotion, Juliette Binoche praised the journalist’s courage and talent, evoking “a woman whose look at the world had become essential”, recalling her commitment to document the reality of the conflict to the danger of her life.
Fatma Hassouna
A few hours before her death, Fatma Hassouna had received a news which was to upset her life: the film Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk, directed by Iranian Sepideh Farsi, in which she played the main role, had just been selected in official competition in Cannes. An artistic recognition which took a tragic relief barely twenty-four hours later.
In a speech full of humanity, Juliette Binoche underlined the universal dimension of art as an act of resistance and memory: “Art is a powerful testimony of our lives, of our dreams. It transcends borders, conflicts, and walls. And we, spectators, kiss him. »»
The moment, sober and intense, has aroused great emotion among the guests, recalling that the Cannes Film Festival, beyond the glitter, remains a committed space, a place where the most fragile voices can still resonate.
The opening of the Cannes Film Festival has also aroused many criticisms since nearly 400 international personalities of cinema signed a forum in the daily Liberation to denounce what they describe as “silence” in the face of the situation in Gaza.
Among the signatories are prestigious names like the Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar, the American actor Richard Gere, actress Susan Sarandon, the double winner of the Palme d’Or Ruben Östlund, Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg and actor Javier Bardem.
They call to act “for all those who die in indifference”. “We artists and actor.ice.s of culture, we cannot remain silent. Their platform also pays a vibrant tribute to the Palestinian photojournalist Fatma Hassouna.
The gallery also moved from the “absence of support” of the Academy of Oscars when the Palestinian Hamdan Ballal was attacked by Israeli settlers at the end of March, a few days after being anicarized for his documentary No Other Land. “Such passivity shame us,” write the signatories.
“Why is the cinema, a pool of social works, committed, seems to be disinterested in the horror of reality, of the oppression suffered by our sisters and colleagues? “, He wonders, calling for acting” for all those who die in indifference “.
