A sweeping boycott campaign is reverberating through the international film industry, as more than 1,200 actors, directors, and industry professionals have pledged to cut ties with Israeli cultural institutions.
The signatories, organized under the collective Film Workers for Palestine, accuse Israeli film bodies of being “complicit in genocide and a system of apartheid against the Palestinian people,” according to The Guardian.
The initiative draws inspiration from the cultural boycott that played a role in ending apartheid in South Africa. It calls for a refusal to collaborate with film festivals, cinemas, broadcasters, and production companies that maintain partnerships with the Israeli government.
The movement has gained the backing of several high-profile figures, including Yorgos Lanthimos, Ava DuVernay, Olivia Colman, Mark Ruffalo, Tilda Swinton, Javier Bardem, Riz Ahmed, and Cynthia Nixon.
Screenwriter David Farr, himself a descendant of Holocaust survivors, said he was “deeply shaken by the actions of the State of Israel” and urged fellow artists “not to remain silent in the face of the oppression of Palestinians.”
Organizers emphasized that the boycott does not target Israeli individuals but instead focuses on institutions they consider complicit.
The pledge explicitly calls out major festivals such as those held in Jerusalem, Haifa, Docaviv, and TLVFest. The campaign follows growing international attention to films about the conflict, including The Voice of Hind Rajab, a documentary about a young girl killed in Gaza, which recently received a 23-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival.
