Laura Blajman-Kadar has become the absolute protagonist of the Cannes Festival for her styling. The woman, a survivor of the attacks on October 7 at the Nova music festival, managed to hide with her husband and a group of friends while they heard the screams and saw people dying around her.
Blajman-Kadar appeared on the Cannes red carpet in the moments before the premiere of Furiosa, the new installment of the Mad Max saga; and he caught the attention of everyone present and the photographers. The reason, his outfit: a vibrant yellow dress decorated with the faces of hostages kidnapped by Hamas, some of them his friends; complemented by a black band with yellow letters that clearly read the message “Bring them home.”
Blajman-Kadar has been campaigning since recovering from the ordeal at the Nova festival, following the Hamas attack in Israel. A massacre in which more than 360 young people were shot, beaten or burned to death. Another 40 were taken hostage.
On her official Instagram account, the woman shared an image of her style, accompanied by a clear message in which she took the opportunity to thank her for being able to carry her message to the Cannes red carpet. “It wasn’t easy, but with the help of incredible people we did it. We will not allow the world to forget you!!! BRING THEM HOME!!!”, she reiterates on the social network.
Shortly after arriving on the red carpet, security guards asked him not to stay too long, but did not force him to leave.
Laura Blajman-Kadar has written a book about everything she experienced, Croire en la vie (Believe in Life), with which she continues to raise awareness about the massacre, now in France.
Israel was the main protagonist of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, which this year was held in the Swedish city of Mälmo. In the midst of a confrontation between Israeli forces against Hamas, the participation of Eden Golan, the country’s representative in Eurovision, was not exactly embraced by some. The young woman came in fifth place, but she will be remembered for the controversy that she experienced throughout the festival.
A similar situation is being experienced in Cannes, which preventively banned protests during the eleven days of the festival, in addition to hiring private security to follow the competition juries and thus prevent activists from approaching them.
“We have decided to organize a festival without controversy, to ensure that the main interest for all of us in being here is cinema, so that if there are other controversies, it does not concern us,” festival director Thierry said at a press conference. Fremaux.
The Israel Pavilion is also expected to remain open, with events highlighting the 1,200 Israelis killed on October 7, the victims and the hostages. Several panels are planned, potentially attended by two relatives of hostages.