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NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Some prominent Hollywood names are among the filmmakers and industry figures who\u2019ve signed a pledge to boycott Israeli film institutions \u2014 including festivals, broadcasters and production companies \u2014 that are \u201cimplicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people,\u201d organizers said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The group Film Workers for Palestine posted an open letter on Monday including signatures from Hollywood luminaries like Emma Stone<\/a><\/span>, Ayo Edebiri, Ava DuVernay, Olivia Colman, Yorgos Lanthimos, Riz Ahmed, Rob Delaney, Javier Bardem, Tilda Swinton and Cynthia Nixon among many others. The group said it had collected more than 3,000 industry signatures since the pledge was made public.<\/p>\n \u201cAs filmmakers, actors, film industry workers, and institutions, we recognize the power of cinema to shape perceptions,\u201d the open letter says<\/a><\/span>. \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 Film Workers for Palestine \u2014 a group of film professionals based in various countries formed in early 2024 \u2014 said their pledge was inspired by Filmmakers United Against Apartheid, who refused 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 \u2014 including festivals, cinemas, broadcasters and production companies \u2014 that are implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people,\u201d the letter says.<\/p>\n The group has not called for a boycott on all Israeli film institutions. It claims on its website that Israel\u2019s public and private broadcasters \u201chave decades-old and ongoing involvement in whitewashing, denying and justifying Israel\u2019s war crimes\u201d and also says Israel\u2019s major film festivals \u2014 including the Jerusalem Film Festival, Haifa International Film Festival and others \u2014 \u201ccontinue to partner with the Israeli government while it carries out what leading experts have defined as genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n But it says that it does not consider all film institutions in Israel complicit, and advises people to ask questions and \u201cseek guidelines set by Palestinian civil society.\u201d<\/p>\n The Jerusalem Film Festival did not immediately reply to a request for comment.<\/p>\n The pledge also specifies that it is targeting institutions and not individuals: \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. This refusal takes aim at institutional complicity, not identity.\u201d<\/p>\n A representative of the Israeli film and television industry called the boycott \u201cmisguided.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are the industry that (has been) struggling for years, making efforts for decades to promote discussion,\u201d working with Palestinians and Israelis to tell the story of the conflict from all sides, said Tzvika Gottlieb, CEO of the Israeli Film & TV Producers Association, in an interview.<\/p>\n Gottlieb said his industry \u201chas consistently maintained a critical stance toward government policies, and is very vocal in criticism of this administration\u2019s current actions. We urgently call for an immediate end to the violence, an end to the suffering, and the release of all hostages right now.\u201d<\/p>\n His group added in official remarks that \u201cthis call for a boycott is profoundly misguided. By targeting us \u2014 the creators who give voice to diverse narratives and foster dialogue \u2014 these signatories are undermining their own cause and attempting to silence us.\u201d<\/p>\n In response, Film Workers for Palestine issued a statement to The Associated Press, saying their initiative is \u201crooted in historic struggles,\u201d in particular \u201cthe successful international movement to end the apartheid regime of South Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShould Israeli film institutions wish to continue working with pledge signatories, their choice is clear: end complicity in Israel\u2019s genocide and apartheid, and endorse the full rights of the Palestinian people under international law, in line with Palestinian civil society guidelines,\u201d the statement said. \u201cTo date, almost none has.\u201d<\/p>\n The pledge comes after a pro-Palestinian demonstration at the recent Venice International Film Festival<\/a><\/span> drew an estimated 10,000 participants. That followed a call by a group called Venice4Palestine for the festival to condemn the destruction in Gaza.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n