![The official poster of the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival has been installed on the facade of the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, southern France on May 12, 2025. [Mustafa Yalçın - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/AA-20250512-37923682-37923677-PREPARATIONS_ARE_UNDERWAY_FOR_THE_78TH_CANNES_FILM_FESTIVAL.jpg?fit=920%2C613&ssl=1)
Hundreds of international film stars have condemned what they described as “silence” surrounding the genocide in Gaza, in an open letter published in today’s edition of the French newspaper Libération, coinciding with the opening of the Cannes Film Festival.
The letter stated, “As artists and cultural players, we cannot remain silent while genocide is taking place in Gaza,” adding: “We are ashamed of such passivity.”
More than 380 international film figures signed the letter which paid tribute to Fatima Hassouna, a photojournalist who was killed in an Israeli air strike in mid-April. Hassouna is the subject of a documentary scheduled to be screened at the festival.
Among the signatories were Pedro Almodovar, Susan Sarandon and Richard Gere.
This message comes a day after an international report warned that the entire population of Gaza is at risk of mass starvation, with around half a million people expected to face “catastrophic hunger” – the most severe level of food insecurity.
The report, issued by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), was jointly produced by 17 UN-affiliated humanitarian agencies and international NGOs. It attributed the worsening conditions to the ongoing Israeli assault, the closure of border crossings and the continued prevention of food and medicine from entering the territory.