Filmmakers, Hollywood Stars Boycott Israeli Companies over Gaza ‘Genocide’
More than 2,500 actors, producers, filmmakers and other film industry professionals have signed a pledge to not work with Israeli film institutions that are “implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people.”
On Monday, a group called “The Film Workers for Palestine” released a pledge refusing collaboration with Israeli firms complicit in Gaza genocide. This includes working with Israeli festivals, cinemas, broadcasters and production companies who justify or whitewash the Israeli government’s crimes.
The Role of Cinema
“As filmmakers, actors, film industry workers, and institutions, we recognize the power of cinema to shape perceptions,” the pledge said. It pointed to the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which stated that “there is a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza, and that Israel’s occupation and apartheid against Palestinians are unlawful.”
Signatories include Hollywood actors Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Tilda Swinton, Riz Ahmed, Javier Bardem, and Cynthia Nixon, Julie Christie, Ilana Glazer, Rebecca Hall, Aimee Lou Wood among others. Furthermore, it includes filmmakers such as Yorgos Lanthimos, Ava DuVernay, Asif Kapadia, Boots Riley and Joshua Oppenheimer. The pledge is still open for more signatories to add their names.
Solidarity with Palestinians
The pledge expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people in their plight. “In this urgent moment of crisis, where many of our governments are enabling the carnage in Gaza, we must do everything we can to address complicity in that unrelenting horror,” the pledge noted.
“We answer the call of Palestinian filmmakers, who have urged the international film industry to refuse silence, racism, and dehumanization, as well as to ‘do everything humanly possible’ to end complicity in their oppression,” the pledge added.
Rejecting Genocide
The group said it drew inspiration from Filmmakers United Against Apartheid who refused to screen their films in apartheid South Africa. “We pledge not to screen films, appear at or otherwise work with Israeli film institutions—including festivals, cinemas, broadcasters and production companies—that are implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people,” the group vowed.
The pledge also clarified that examples of complicity include “whitewashing or justifying genocide and apartheid, and/or partnering with the government committing them.”
Gaza Crisis
The pledge comes as Israel expands its assault on Gaza, which has so far killed more than 64,500 Palestinians and injured over 163,000, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The war has also internally displaced people and caused a starvation crisis in the Strip.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has sparked global outrage. As a result, many in the entertainment industry launched initiatives to protest Israel’s war on Gaza. This included signing an open letter this summer, condemning what they called the “film industry’s silence over Israel’s deadly military campaign in Gaza.” The letter was signed by hundreds of actors and filmmakers, including Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Ralph Fiennes and director Guillermo del Toro.
Last week, The Voice of Hind Rajab – a film documenting the final hours of a 6-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces last year – received a 23-minute standing ovation at the Venice film festival, winning the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize. The film got the support of Hollywood stars, with Brad Pitt, Jonathan Glazer, Phoenix, Rooney Mara and Alfonso Cuarón joining as executive producers.
