CANNES — Humanitarian efforts trump movies. Sean Penn is staying home to testify in front of a U.S. Senate committee instead of jetting to the Cannes Film Festival, his spokesperson confirmed.

Mara Buxbaum, Penn’s publicist, told QMI Agency her client is in Washington both Wednesday and Thursday to appear in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during a hearing on rebuilding Haiti. That ruled out Cannes for Thursday’s debut of Doug Liman’s political thriller, Fair Game, co-starring Naomi Watts as outed CIA operative Valerie Plame and Penn as her husband.

“Sean Penn was invited to Washington, D.C., to speak on behalf of the humanitarian and recovery challenges in Haiti, offering personal perspective as to how the United States can better support rebuilding efforts,” Buxbaum said.

The actor has personal experience.

“For four months, (he) has been actively working on the ground in Haiti to bring relief to the Haitian people quickly and effectively, in the wake of the devastation caused by the earthquake. Within a week of the Jan. 12 disaster, Penn founded the J/P Haitian Relief Organization with the mission to deliver immediate aid — including medicine, food and emergency treatment — where the need is greatest.”

Buxbaum added that Penn knew what he had to do. “He has always enjoyed his experiences at the Cannes Film Festival but the priorities of Haiti prevailed.”