In Cannes, the model Bella Hadid, in a keffiyeh dress that pays homage to Palestine, plays with censorship

After Cate Blanchett and Leïla Bekhti, other personalities show their support for the Palestinian people at the height of the Cannes festival. This is the case of the top Bella Hadid.

Why is there so much talk about Bella Hadid’s keffiyeh dress, symbol of Palestine, at the Cannes Film Festival?

On May 23, 2024, on the sidelines of the red carpets of the largest film festival on the planet, the 27-year-old Dutch-Palestinian model wore a dress inspired by the keffiyeh, symbol of Palestine. This is an archive model from 2001 by Michael & Hushi. This might be a detail for you, but Cannes Film Festival whose general delegate Thierry Frémaux rejects political demonstrations, this means a lot.

It is because there it is forbidden to demonstrate that the smallest gesture suddenly acquires a lot of meaning, even appears as a act of courage. This is why the Jean Paul Gaultier dress by Haider Ackermann worn by Cate Blanchett when climbing the steps on May 20, 2024 caused so much talk. Because its colors (black on the front, pink tending towards white on the back, with a green back) formed the flag of Palestine with the red carpet. Same thing for Leïla Bekhti’s simple watermelon brooch (symbol of Palestinian resistance) on May 15th. More explicitly, actress Pascale Kann provided her support through a T-shirt in the country’s colors that read “Palestine” in Arabic.

Thus, some find the gestures of Bella Hadid, Cate Blanchett, Leïla Bekhti or even Pascale Kann insufficient, even insignificant. Others even accuse them of a form of performative activism, that is, an ostentatious demonstration of virtue without any concrete action behind it.

Cate Blanchett, Leïla Bekhti, Bella Hadid supporting Palestine in Cannes: militant act or performative activism?

But this forgets that Bella Hadid has often expressed herself more explicitly in defense of the Palestinian people, risking losing many contracts in the field of fashion and beauty. That Cate Blanchett has already called for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, as a goodwill ambassador of the UNHCR (the United Nations refugee agency) before the European Parliament in November 2023. That Leïla Bekhti, as as UNICEF ambassador, warned of the tragic fate of children in Gaza in April 2024.

Whether we like it or not, cinema helps shape our imagination, and therefore our vision of the world and its understanding.. The fashion and beauty industries have understood this well and have made actresses their muses with contracts worth millions of euros. AND because we project so much onto actresses, they can also serve as spokespersons, even standard bearers for an entire society.

This is particularly illustrated by the #MeToo movement, which was launched in 2007, but only achieved today's impact once it reached the film industry in 2017. When we see at the top of the ranking of the most hated celebrities in 2024 established by Ranker according to the votes of the public, Amber Heard and Meghan Markle, this further confirms how this profession (and the body of actresses in particular) can crystallize tensions in society. And, perhaps, help turn the situation around. So, in the context of this famous Cannes festival banning demonstrations, perhaps it is less about performative activism than a sacred display of activism.

Laura Blajman-Kadar and Philippe Toretton pay homage to the Hamas hostages in Cannes

Note this too Laura Blajman-Kadar, who survived the Hamas attack at the Supernova festival on October 7, 2023, also took to the steps of the Cannes festival in a dress that pays homage to the Israeli hostages held by the Islamist and Palestinian nationalist movement. And that the actor Philippe Toretton showed a pin of support for these same hostages (a yellow ribbon). Because the war of images is not only played out on the screens of the Cannes festival, but also on its red carpet and its hypermedia coverage.