A ribbon with “Bring Them Home” written on it was confiscated from former hostage Mia Schem by security guards at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, Schem told N12 over the weekend.

“I came to help in the struggle to bring the hostages back,” she told N12.

“Unfortunately, upon arriving at the red carpet, the festival management confiscated the ribbon I was supposed to wear. I refused to give up. I took the yellow hostage pin from one of the delegation members and wore it on my dress,” she stated.

Schem was invited to the Cannes Film Festival by the local Jewish community and, on Friday, was hosted by the mayor of Nice, where she spoke at the city council. Over the 10-day festival, multiple protests against Israel occurred, including one led by twin directors Arab and Tarzan Nasser during a screening of their film Once Upon a Time in Gaza.

“Gaza is undergoing the greatest and most horrific genocide in modern history,” the directors said.

Directors Arab Nasser and Tarzan Nasser, cast members Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, producers Rani Massalha, Marie Legrand, Muriel Merlin, Rashid Abdelhamid pose during a photocall for the film ''Once Upon a Time in Gaza'' at the 78th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 19, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/Manon Cruz)
Directors Arab Nasser and Tarzan Nasser, cast members Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, producers Rani Massalha, Marie Legrand, Muriel Merlin, Rashid Abdelhamid pose during a photocall for the film ''Once Upon a Time in Gaza'' at the 78th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 19, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/Manon Cruz)
In another instance, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange attended a festival event wearing a jacket that read “Stop Israel” and a shirt listing approximately 5,000 names of children allegedly killed in Gaza since 2023.

Arab-Israeli film wins short film award

The film I’m Glad You’re Dead Now by Arab-Israeli director, screenwriter, and actor Tawfeek Barhom won the Palme d’Or for Best Short Film at the festival. Additionally, Iranian director Jafar Panahi’s film It Was Just an Accident won the Palme d’Or for Best Feature Film.

The movie follows five characters who believe they’ve identified the prosecutor who tortured them during their detention, but since their eyes were covered in prison, no one can be absolutely sure that the man in custody is the right one.

Panahi was barred from filmmaking for 15 years by the government in Tehran.

Panahi was barred from filmmaking for 15 years by the government in Tehran.