More than 1,300 artists, including Hollywood and international A-listers like Olivia Colman<\/strong><\/a>, Tilda Swinton<\/strong><\/a>, Emma Stone<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Mark Ruffalo<\/strong><\/a>, Riz Ahmed<\/strong><\/a> and Javier Bardem<\/strong><\/a>, have promised not to work with Israeli film companies they say are \u201cimplicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people.\u201d<\/p>\n The artists \u2013 actors, directors, screenwriters and producers \u2013 have signed a pledge created by Film Makers for Palestine and decry the \u201cunrelenting horror\u201d in Gaza.<\/p>\n Other big names in film to have signed the pledge include Ken Loach<\/strong><\/a>, Y\u00f3rgos L\u00e1nthimos<\/strong><\/a>, Asif Kapadia<\/strong><\/a>, Joshua Oppenheimer, Lily Gladstone<\/strong><\/a>, Ayo Edebiri, Brian Cox<\/strong><\/a>, Josh O\u2019Connor, Rebecca Hall,\u00a0Benedict Wong, Gael Garc\u00eda Bernal, and Susan Sarandon<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cAs filmmakers, actors, film industry workers, and institutions, we recognize the power of cinema to shape perceptions,\u201d the statement<\/strong><\/a> reads.\u00a0\u201cIn 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.\u201d<\/p>\n The statement says that it was inspired by Filmmakers United Against Apartheid –\u00a0which was founded by award-winning filmmakers Martin Scorsese<\/strong><\/a> and Jonathan Demme in 1987 and led to more than 100 prominent filmmakers refusing to screen their films in apartheid South Africa.<\/p>\n \u201cWe pledge not to screen films, appear at or otherwise work with Israeli film institutions \u2013 including festivals, cinemas, broadcasters and production companies \u2013 that are implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people,\u201d the pledge continues, adding that signatories urge the industry to “refuse silence, racism, and dehumanisation and to do everything humanly possible to end complicity in their oppression”.<\/p>\n Examples of being complicit in Israeli rights violations include \u201cwhitewashing or justifying genocide and apartheid, and\/or partnering with the government committing them\u201d, the statement adds.<\/p>\n Related<\/b><\/p>\n The pledge also cited International Court of Justice rulings, leading academics and UN experts that concluded a genocide charge against Israel is plausible.<\/p>\n Since Hamas\u2019 attack on Israeli citizens on October 7, 2023, multiple UN human rights experts\u00a0have stated that Israel\u2019s military actions in Gaza amount to genocide<\/strong><\/a>, with the International Court of Justice finding claims of genocide plausible.<\/p>\n Last month, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification\u00a0announced that people in the Gaza Strip are\u00a0officially facing \u201ca man-made\u201d famine<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0in the territory \u2013 despite what the Israeli government has said. <\/p>\n The pledge signed by the creatives also notes that there are \u201ca few Israeli film entities that are not complicit\u201d and the FAQ<\/strong><\/a> clarifies that the pledge does not prohibit the filmmakers from working with Israeli individuals.<\/p>\n \u201cThe call is for film workers to refuse to work with Israeli institutions that are complicit in Israel\u2019s human rights abuses against the Palestinian people,\u201d the statement reads. \u201cThis refusal takes aim at institutional complicity, not identity. There are also 2 million Palestinians with Israeli citizenship, and Palestinian civil society has developed context sensitive guidelines for that community.\u201d<\/p>\n Josh O’Connor, Lily Gladstone and Y\u00f3rgos L\u00e1nthimos have signed the pledge <\/span> – AP Photo <\/span><\/p>\n Related<\/b><\/p>\n The pledge is the latest show of support from celebrities for Gazans and against their treatment by Israel.<\/p>\n In June, many celebrities added their names to the letter calling on UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to “end the UK’s complicity” in Gaza<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Elsewhere, more than 350 international actors, directors and producers condemned the Gaza \u201cgenocide\u201d in an open letter released ahead of the Cannes Film Festival<\/strong><\/a>. They condemned the killing of Fatma Hassona, the 25-year-old Palestinian photojournalist and protagonist of the documentary\u00a0Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk.<\/p>\n Hassouna was\u00a0killed along with 10 relatives in an Israeli air strike on her family home<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0in northern\u00a0Gaza, the day after the documentary was announced as part of the ACID Cannes selection.<\/p>\n The signatories – which included\u00a0Pedro Almod\u00f3var<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Ruben \u00d6stlund<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Guy Pierce<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Ralph Fiennes<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Melissa Barrera<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Alfonso Cuar\u00f3n<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0David Cronenberg<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u2013 denounced genocide in Gaza: “We cannot remain silent while genocide is taking place in\u00a0Gaza,” read the letter initiated by several pro-Palestinian activist groups and published in French newspaper Lib\u00e9ration and US magazine Variety.\u00a0\u201cWe are ashamed of such passivity.\u201d<\/p>\n Kaouther Ben Hania accepts the grand jury prize for ‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’ during the awards ceremony of the 82nd edition of the Venice Film Festival – 6 September 2025 <\/span> – AP Photo <\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/div>\n
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