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Scarlett Johansson’s Directorial Debut, Spotlighting Holocaust Survivors, Gets 5-Minute Ovation at Cannes
Director Scarlett Johansson poses during a photocall for the film “Eleanor the Great” in competition for the category Un Certain Regard at the 78th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stephane Mahe
Scarlett Johansson’s feature directorial debut “Eleanor the Great” earned the Jewish filmmaker and her cast a five-minute standing ovation on Tuesday during its world premiere at the 78th Cannes Film Festival in France.
The film, competing in the Un Certain Regard category at Cannes, stars June Squibb, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Erin Kellyman, and Israeli actress and real-life Holocaust survivor Rita Zohar. “Eleanor the Great” revolves around Eleanor Morgenstein (Squibb), a 94-year-old who moves from Florida to New York after the death of her friend Bessie (Zohar), who was a Holocaust survivor.
In New York, Eleanor stumbles into a support group for Holocaust survivors and decides to join by telling a fake story that captivates Nina (Kellyman), a 19-year-old journalism student who is sitting in on the group. Eleanor is longing for connection and the two women develop a friendship that is based on Eleanor’s deception. Ejiofor plays Nina’s father, and “Breaking Bad” actress Jessica Hecht is Eleanor’s daughter.
“Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut is a comically poignant exploration of how the stories we hear become the stories we tell,” read a synopsis of the film provided by the Cannes Film Festival.
“It’s a film about many things: it’s about friendship, it’s about grief, it’s about forgiveness. And I think those are all themes that we can use a lot more of these days,” Johansson said at the Cannes premiere of “Eleanor the Great,” according to Variety. “It’s a film that I feel is historic and also very timely now, and so I hope that you all carry it with you the way that I carry Eleanor with me.”
Johansson’s maternal family is Jewish, with roots in Eastern Europe. She discovered in 2017 that she had relatives who died in the Warsaw Ghetto during the Holocaust.
Johansson previously directed the 2009 short film “These Vagabond Shoes.” She is at Cannes this year also as a cast member of Wes Anderson’s “The Phoenician Scheme,” and attended Cannes in 2023 for Anderson’s film “Asteroid City.”
The 2025 edition of the Cannes Film Festival runs from May 13-24.
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French Official Tells Paper Arab Countries Will Condemn Hamas, Trying to Get Palestinian Statehood Recognized
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot speaks to the media on the day he attends the European Union Foreign Ministers council in Brussels, Belgium, July 15, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yves Herman
Arab countries will for the first time condemn Hamas and call for its disarmament early next week at a United Nations ministerial event in New York, a move meant to lure more European countries to recognize Palestinian statehood, France’s foreign minister said on Saturday.
In an exclusive interview with French weekly Le Journal du Dimanche, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot said the move was part of a long-planned initiative between France and Saudi Arabia.
“For the first time, Arab countries will condemn Hamas and call for its disarmament, which will seal its definitive isolation. European countries will in turn confirm their intention to recognize the State of Palestine. Half of European countries have done so, all others are considering it,” Barrot told the JDD.
“The British Prime Minister has stated his intention to do so. Germany is considering it at a later stage. We will launch an appeal in New York for other countries to join us in order to set in motion an even more ambitious and demanding process that will culminate on September 21,” Barrot added.
On Thursday French President Emmanuel Macron announced France would formally recognize the state of Palestine at the U.N. General Assembly on September 21, drawing condemnation from the U.S. and Israel.
Earlier on Saturday Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni called it counterproductive to recognize a Palestinian state before it is established.
On Friday a German government spokesperson said there were no plans to recognize a Palestinian state in the short term.
At the upcoming United Nations event on Monday and Tuesday, France and Saudi Arabia plan to lay out a proposed post-war roadmap leading to a two-state solution covering security, reconstruction and governance, which will be compatible with the Abraham Accords negotiated by US President Trump, Barrot said.
The French minister added that in coming weeks the European Commission would take a tougher stance on Israel and demand a stop on building of any new settlement projects in the West Bank, and also an end to militarized policing of humanitarian aid distribution.
Barrot also called on fellow European countries to demand a removal of the financial blockade on the Palestinian authority so it can receive 2 billion euros he said it is owed.
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Jordan and UAE Drop Aid Into Gaza in First Airdrop in Months, Jordanian Source Says
An airplane drops humanitarian aid over Gaza as seen from northern Gaza Strip July 27, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Jordan and the United Arab Emirates parachuted 25 tons of aid into the Gaza Strip on Sunday in their first airdrop in months, a Jordanian official source said.
The official said the air drops were not a substitute for delivery by land.
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Trump Says Israel Will Have to Decide on Next Steps in Gaza, Pledges More Aid
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 8, 2025. Photo: Kevin Lamarque via Reuters Connect.
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday Israel would have to make a decision on next steps in Gaza, adding that he did not know what would happen after the collapse of ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations with the Hamas terrorist group.
Trump underscored the importance of securing the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, saying they had suddenly “hardened” up on the issue, and said the US would provide more aid to the war-torn Palestinian enclave.
“They don’t want to give them back, and so Israel is going to have to make a decision,” Trump told reporters at the start of a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at his golf property in Turnberry, Scotland.
“I know what I’d do, but I don’t think it’s appropriate that I say it. But Israel is going to have to make a decision,” he said, while also claiming, without evidence, that Hamas members were stealing food coming into Gaza and selling it.
Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both appeared on Friday to abandon Gaza ceasefire negotiations with Hamas, saying it had become clear that the Palestinian group did not want a deal.
Netanyahu said Israel was now mulling “alternative” options to achieve its goals of bringing its hostages home from Gaza and ending Hamas rule in the enclave.
Trump said he believed Hamas leaders would now be “hunted down,” telling reporters: “Hamas really didn’t want to make a deal. I think they want to die. And it’s very bad. And it got to be to a point where you’re going to have to finish the job.”
US TO PROVIDE MORE AID, TRUMP SAYS
Trump on Sunday said the US would provide more humanitarian aid to Gaza, where concerns are mounting about the worsening hunger, but wanted other countries to participate as well. He said he would discuss the issue with von der Leyen.
“We’re giving a lot of money, a lot of food, a lot of everything,” he said. “If we weren’t there, I think people would have starved, frankly. They would have starved, and it’s not like they’re eating well.”
He said he had spoken with Netanyahu and discussed a number of issues, including Iran. He said and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer would also discuss Israel when they meet at Trump’s golf property in Turnberry on Monday.
Trump also noted said the United States was not acknowledged for earlier food aid for Gaza.
“No other country gave anything,” he said, calling out European countries in particular. “It makes you feel a little bad when you do that and, you know, you have other countries not giving anything… Nobody gave but us. And nobody said, Gee, thank you very much. And it would be nice to have at least a thank you.”
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