Paris - Saba:
International artists condemned the silence regarding the genocide committed by the Israeli occupation forces in the Gaza Strip, calling on the film industry to take action to convey the suffering of the victims in an open letter on the eve of the Cannes Film Festival.
According to Agence France-Presse, "Hours before the curtain rose on the Cannes Film Festival, 380 leading filmmakers issued an open letter published in Libération on Tuesday condemning the international silence regarding what they described as genocide in Gaza. They cited the killing of photographer Fatima Hassouna and expressed their disappointment with the Academy's response to the attack targeting Palestinian director Hamdan Bilal."
The letter began, "We, cultural artists and actors, cannot remain silent while genocide is taking place in Gaza." Prominent directors and actors, including Pedro Almodóvar, Susan Sarandon, Richard Gere, Ruben Östlund, David Cronenberg, and Javier Bardem, signed the letter, bringing the total number of signatures to approximately 380 from various countries.
The statement, which coincided with the opening of the Cannes Film Festival, recalled photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in mid-April. It explained that ten of her relatives, including her pregnant sister, were killed in the same raid. Hassouna is the star of a documentary being screened as part of the festival's program.
The signatories also expressed concern about the lack of institutional support following the attack on Palestinian director Hamdan Bilal by settlers in late March, days after he won the Oscar for Best Documentary for No Other Land. They criticized the Academy's passivity, which they described as shameful.
The signatories called for concrete action for all those who die in the face of indifference, emphasizing that cinema must carry their messages to the world.
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