'The Broken Cross' at Cannes: Letting the World See the Individual Suffering Behind the Violence

Outside the Palais des Festivals, a well-known gathering spot for moviegoers seeking tickets, "The Broken Cross" was among the most sought-after titles, appearing repeatedly on signs held by eager festival attendees.

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Fayha, a young woman from Damascus, holds up a sign seeking a ticket.

On May 17 (France time), "The Broken Cross" premiered as scheduled at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes. The 205-seat screening venue was completely filled. The documentary recounts the mass killings in Syria carried out by terrorist groups involving members of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM). Throughout the two-hour screening, sighs and sobs could be heard from the audience as viewers reacted to the harrowing scenes depicted in the film.

French director and curator Patrick Fouque described the film as "a precious and urgent call in the global struggle against terrorism." Eleni Vlassi, Artistic Director of the International Film Festival of Crete in Greece, noted that the significance of The Broken Cross goes far beyond documenting atrocities. "It pierces through the fog of war, allowing the world to witness the individual suffering behind the violence, while providing profound space for reflection on how terrorism should be defined and confronted," she said.

Among more than 1,000 exhibition booths in the Cannes International Market, The Broken Cross, showcased at the Greek Pavilion, also attracted considerable attention. Martine and Jean-Marc Therouanne, founders of the Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinemas and former Cannes Film Festival selection advisors, enthusiastically introduced and recommended the film to international industry professionals. They praised it as "an extraordinarily powerful masterpiece that reveals a deeply disturbing and shocking world."

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Park Sun Young, BIFF programmer, hopes The Broken Cross will screen at BIFF 2026.

At the Canadian Pavilion, Moroccan Pavilion, Tunisian Pavilion and many other venues across the market, filmmakers engaged in lively discussions about The Broken Cross from both political and regional perspectives. At the Egyptian Pavilion, Raman Chawla, Audiovisual Attache of the French Embassy in India, spoke highly of the film, praising it for breaking away from the conventions of typical counterterrorism thrillers. He noted that its restrained narrative approach is exceptionally rare among works dealing with similar subject matter.

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At Cannes, Raman Chawla presents The Broken Cross to delegates from the Noida International Film Festival (India) and the Washington, DC International Film Festival.

According to feedback from the Cannes Film Market, Al Jazeera is expected to premiere the film in July. Meanwhile, U.S.-based Watermelon Pictures has reached a preliminary agreement with the producers and plans to begin a worldwide theatrical release in 2026.
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