This year’s Cannes Film Festival has had a string of actors, writers and filmmakers speak publicly about the war in Gaza, the broader situation in Palestine and the risks faced by artists who take political positions.
While Cannes has long been a forum where cinema and politics overlap, the war in Gaza has become one of the defining subjects at each event since the conflict began in 2023, surfacing at press conferences, red carpets and public talks.
Here are some of the most notable comments at the 2026 festival so far.
Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett addressed the subject during a public conversation at Cannes, after an audience member thanked her for speaking out in defence of Palestinians.
“It’s a sad state of affairs when film festivals suddenly become the only places where one can talk about wars, conflicts and genocides, as if they’re going to be solved here,” Blanchett said.
The Australian actress has previously signed the Artists4Ceasefire letter calling for an end to the violence in Gaza.
Javier Bardem
Javier Bardem has been one of the festival’s most vocal figures on Gaza, speaking repeatedly about the war and the response to artists who criticise Israel.
The Spanish actor told AFP he was “getting more work than ever” despite his public campaigning against the war in Gaza, adding that he believed “the narrative” around the conflict was changing.
Bardem also addressed the issue during the press conference for his competition film The Beloved, directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen. Asked about the film’s portrait of destructive masculinity, Bardem connected that theme to politics, naming Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu as examples of what he described as toxic male behaviour driving global conflicts, including in the Middle East and Ukraine.
The actor has been outspoken on Palestine for more than a decade. At the Academy Awards earlier this year, while presenting the Oscar for Best International Feature Film, he said: “No to war and free Palestine.”
Paul Laverty
Scottish screenwriter Paul Laverty, a member of this year’s Cannes jury, used the festival’s opening press conference to criticise both the war in Gaza and what he described as the blacklisting of artists who have spoken out.
“Isn't it fascinating to see someone like Susan Sarandon, Javier Bardem and Mark Ruffalo blacklisted because of their views in opposing the murder of women and children in Gaza?” Laverty said. “Shame on Hollywood people who do that.”
Laverty, best known for his long collaboration with British filmmaker Ken Loach, also said artists had a responsibility to engage with the world around them, rather than avoid difficult political subjects.
Hannah Einbinder
Hannah Einbinder, star of Hacks, also spoke at Cannes about Palestine and fears that actors could face professional consequences for their political views.
“I am really pleased to work with people like Susan Sarandon and Melissa Barrera, and people who have suffered far greater consequences than I have,” Einbinder told Variety. “The cost of not speaking is higher.”
Speaking to The Guardian, Einbinder said the moral cost of silence was greater than the risk to her career, and named artists including Sarandon, Barrera, Ruffalo and Bardem as figures she admired for their positions on Palestine.
Einbinder has previously used major platforms to voice support for Palestine, including at the Emmy Awards, where she ended her acceptance speech with the words “free Palestine”.
