More than 380 figures from the cinema world including Schindlers List actor Ralph Fiennes condemned genocide in Gaza in an open letter published Tuesday ahead of the Cannes Festival opening.
We cannot remain silent while genocide is taking place in Gaza, read the letter initiated by several pro-Palestinian activist groups and published in French newspaper Liberation and US magazine Variety.
The signatories which include Hollywood stars Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon as well as acclaimed Spanish director Pedro Almodovar and former Cannes winner Ruben Ostlund decried the death of Gazan photojournalist Fatima Hassouna.
Hassouna, 25, is the subject of a documentary which will premiere in Cannes on Thursday by Iranian director Sepideh Farsi, titled Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk.
Hassouna was killed along with 10 relatives in an Israeli air strike on her family home in northern Gaza last month, the day after the documentary was announced as part of the ACID Cannes selection.