Le Figaro reports that 58-year-old French film star Juliette Binoche paid tribute to the Ukrainian people at the opening of the 48th Cesar Awards.
“A year ago, the Russian army violated the territorial integrity of Ukraine on the orders of its president. This 48th César ceremony is dedicated to Ukraine and all its people,” the actress emphasized.
Binoche told the horrific story of a Ukrainian woman who lost her entire family this year.
“I heard them all die. Misha was breathing heavily, as if he was trying to free himself from the slab, but he couldn't. At some point, he froze,” Juliette Binoche quoted the testimony of a woman from Ukraine with tears in her eyes. “And then I heard Polina crying. She had also died. My mother told me that my son called me several times, then stopped talking. Forever. He was 14 years old.”
Juliette Binoche was very moved. She emphasized that she was shocked by what people in Ukraine are going through.
“For us, whose job it is to tell people's stories, how can we not betray when we are not there? Not to get used to the horror that testimonies make us feel, or the helplessness they plunge us into. And according to our capacities, to do the least we can do - to give meaning and beauty, perhaps love. At least to one more person,” the actress emphasized.
Speaking about the President of Ukraine, Binoche called Zelenskyy the embodiment of courage, like all the men, women and children who endure the horrors of war, hoping it will end soon.