The film “I’m Glad You’re Dead Now” by Arab Israeli director, screenwriter, and actor Tawfeek Barhom won the Palme d’Or award in the short film category at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday.
Barhom’s film, which he wrote, directed and starred in, tells the story of two brothers who return to their childhood island where buried secrets and long-simmering tensions force them to confront their dark past. The film also features Arab-Israeli actor Ashraf Barhom.
At a press conference after receiving the award, Barhom said: “This is for Palestine and for peace.”
“The liberation of people shouldn’t antagonize anyone else. There is a big difference between liberation and peace,” he added.
The film is described as a joint Palestinian, Greek and French production.
Originally from the village of Ein Rafa near Jerusalem, Barhom is known to audiences for his lead role in Eran Riklis’s film “A Borrowed Identity,” for which he was nominated for an Ophir Award for Best Actor in 2014.
Since then, he has appeared in several international productions including Hany Abu-Assad’s “The Idol,” Garth Davis’ “Mary Magdalene,” and Tarik Saleh’s “Boy from Heaven.”
This year’s Cannes Festival unfolded amid growing tensions over Israeli military operations in Gaza in a war sparked by the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror onslaught. In the lead-up to the event, a petition began circulating among filmmakers and actors calling out what they described as the global film community’s silence on the war against Hamas in Gaza.
By the time Cannes opened on May 13, the letter had garnered around 380 signatures, including that of “Schindler’s List” star Ralph Fiennes.
Organizers told AFP Friday that the list had grown to over 900 signatories, among them French actress Catherine 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.
The festival’s top prize went to Iranian dissident filmmaker Jafar Panahi for his revenge thriller “It Was Just an Accident.”