CANNES: France’s Catherine Deneuve has joined over 900 cinema figures who have signed an open letter denouncing alleged “genocide” in Gaza and the movie industry’s failure to speak up about it, organizers said on Friday.
The petition began circulating during the buildup to the Cannes film festival and had garnered around 380 names, including “Schindler’s List” star Ralph Fiennes, when the event kicked off on May 13.
An update by organizers on Friday included more than 900 names, including Deneuve, British director Danny Boyle, and Swedish actor Gustaf Skarsgard.
The initiative, called “Artists for Fatem,” was sparked by the killing of Palestinian photojournalist Fatima (“Fatem“) Hassouna, who was the subject of a documentary that premiered at Cannes week.
Hassouna, 25, was killed in an Israeli airstrike along with 10 relatives in her family home in northern Gaza last month, the day after the documentary was announced as part of the ACID Cannes selection.
“As artists and cultural players, we cannot remain silent while genocide is taking place in Gaza and this unspeakable news is hitting our communities hard,” the open letter says.
Other signatories include Juliette Binoche, who is chairing the jury at Cannes, Rooney Mara, Jonathan Glazer, US indie director Jim Jarmusch, “Lupin” star Omar Sy, Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Pedro Almodovar, and
Mark Ruffalo.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who is in Cannes to promote a documentary about his life, has also signed the letter, organizers said Friday.
He posed for photographers on Tuesday with a T-shirt bearing the names of killed Gaza children.
On Thursday, Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 3,613 people had been killed in the territory since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the war’s overall toll to 53,762, mostly civilians.
Hamas’s October 2023 attack triggered the war.
France’s Deneuve joins over 900 cinema figures on Gaza petition
https://arab.news/2jnpx
France’s Deneuve joins over 900 cinema figures on Gaza petition
Zimbabwe frees nearly 4,000 inmates
- A total of 4,305 — including 223 women — will eventually be released, Ziyambi said, with the scheme “focusing on vulnerable groups and those who have demonstrated significant progress in their rehabilitation”
HARARE: Zimbabwe on Monday began releasing nearly 4,000 inmates who were granted presidential amnesty in a bid to ease overcrowding in prisons.
The Cabinet announced the amnesty in February on the same day it approved sweeping changes to the constitution as part of a plan to extend 83-year-old President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term till 2030.
“The nation should note that the release of the 3,978 beneficiaries begins today,” Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said at a press conference in the capital Harare.
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The Cabinet announced the amnesty in February on the same day it approved sweeping changes to the constitution.
Zimbabwe’s prisons held just over 24,000 inmates in the second quarter of 2025, according to recent available national data.
A total of 4,305 — including 223 women — will eventually be released, Ziyambi said, with the scheme “focusing on vulnerable groups and those who have demonstrated significant progress in their rehabilitation.”
Among those freed was 23-year-old Tendai Chitsika, who had been serving a six-month sentence for theft and was only two months away from completing it.
“It was a learning curve for me. I’m a changed person and I promise to do good out there,” he said at Harare Central Prison, adding: “I want to thank the president for this opportunity.”
In the yard, hundreds of inmates sat divided into two groups. On one side were those still in their orange prison uniforms, destined to remain behind. On the other, men who had already changed into civilian clothes waited to be processed for release and return home.
Some broke into chants of “Mnangagwa huchi,” which loosely translated means “Mnangagwa is honey,” while one prisoner held aloft a banner bearing the president’s face.
The presidential amnesty “reflects a profound commitment to restorative justice, national compassion and the strategic decongestion of correctional facilities,” Ziyambi said.
The scheme did not include prisoners convicted of severe crimes such as murder, robbery, rape or “contravention of the Maintenance of Peace and Order Act” — a charge that has been used in the past against protesters and political opposition.
The southern African country has been stirred since last year by rising anger against Mnangagwa and his ruling Zanu-PF party, with leading opposition figures denouncing a constitutional “coup” after the constitutional amendments approved by the Cabinet last month.
The amendments — which still need to pass parliament, weighted in favor of the Zanu-PF — include extending the presidential term to seven years and scrapping general presidential elections by giving parliament the power to choose the president.
