Palestinian Cinema at the Heart of the 78th Cannes Film Festival

At the 78th Cannes Film Festival, the Marché du Film was in full swing along the Riviera. Among the usual national pavilions Greece, Saudi Arabia, the United States, China, Morocco, the UAE stood the Palestinian pavilion, newly repositioned closer to the port and the heart of the market village. This placement alone made a difference: more festivalgoers could discover Palestinian cinema, its artists, its films, and the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza.

The Palestinian pavilion was a vibrant, politically engaged space. Every morning, Palestinian filmmaker Jabaly Mohamed originally from Gaza, now based in Norway and members of the Palestinian Film Institute made calls to stay in contact with people in Gaza and check on their wellbeing.

On May 18, the Masharawi Fund announced the launch of From Ground Zero+, a new project by Palestinian filmmaker Rashid Masharawi. The initiative aims to support the visibility and preservation of Palestinian stories. It follows From Ground Zero, a 112-minute anthology of short films made by 22 filmmakers during the destruction of Gaza, pre-selected for the 2024 Oscars. From Ground Zero+ continues that work, featuring films by Etimad Washah, Abdulrahman Sabbah, Muhammad Al Sharif, Ahmed Hassouna, Rabab Khamis, Alaa Damo, Aws Al Banna, Mustafa Al Nabih, Nidal Damo, and Reema Mahmoud.

During the conference, Abedalsalam Alhajj, a Jordanian filmmaker and producer working with the Royal Film Commission, announced the creation of the Gaza Film School, an online filmmaking school for people in Gaza. He stated: "Of course, we need to open humanitarian aid, help them with food, water. But we also need to tell their story and help them do it."

The atmosphere in the pavilion was a mix of grief and resilience. One could feel the paradox of a world that continues its daily life while remaining aware of the ongoing atrocities in Gaza, Congo, and beyond. In a message read aloud by Ala' Abu Ghoush, director Nidal Damo addressed the other filmmakers of From Ground Zero+: "On behalf of Salima. We are filmmakers from Gaza, creating films from ground zero in the middle of a genocide. We want our films to be seen while we are still alive." Salima Awad, one of the film's subjects, was killed by Israeli strikes while Unfinished Stories was still in production.

Gaza was at the center of this edition in other ways too. The festival paid tribute to Fatma Hassona, a 25-year-old Palestinian photojournalist and the subject of Sepideh Farsi's film Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk, who was killed along with her family by an Israeli airstrike the day after the film's selection was announced. Cannes released a statement expressing its horror and deep sadness, and dedicated the film's screening to her memory.

French Minister of Culture Rachida Dati visited the Palestinian pavilion on May 18 in a gesture of solidarity, noted by the Palestinian Film Institute as standing "on the right side of history" a significant moment as President Macron had recently described Benjamin Netanyahu's actions as "a shame."

The festival's opening ceremony set the tone. President of the jury Juliette Binoche opened with words for Gaza: "Artists have the ability to bear witness for others. I think of Fatma Hassona, the young Palestinian photojournalist killed in Gaza, of those who can no longer bear witness. We are here because we believe cinema can open eyes, hearts, and sometimes consciences. Cinema is a hand extended in the night. Let us keep filming, telling stories, disturbing. Let us keep loving. It is the most precious thing we can offer."

In the days that followed, hundreds of cinema figures signed an open letter denouncing the silence of the film world on the genocide of Palestinians, among them Robert De Niro, who received the Honorary Palme d'Or at this 78th edition.

On May 19, the premiere of Once Upon a Time in Gaza by Arab and Tarzan Nasser, selected for Un Certain Regard, drew a packed Debussy theater and a five-minute standing ovation. On May 23, the film was awarded the Best Direction Prize by the Un Certain Regard jury.

What this 78th edition of Cannes will be remembered for, above all, is its wave of humanity and its many calls to act, to bear witness, and to refuse silence.

— Lyna Tadount, Télésorbonne