More than 1,200 film and television professionals, including prominent names such as director Yorgos Lanthimos and actresses Olivia Colman and Ayo Edebiri, have signed a public pledge refusing to collaborate with Israeli film institutions and companies accused of being “complicit in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people.”

The declaration, promoted by the organization Film Workers for Palestine, brings together winners of the Oscars, BAFTAs, Emmys and the Palme d’Or. Among the signatories are also filmmakers such as Ava DuVernay, Adam McKay, Boots Riley, Emma Seligman, Joshua Oppenheimer and Mike Leigh, as well as internationally renowned actors including Mark Ruffalo, Gael García Bernal, Riz Ahmed, Javier Bardem, Tilda Swinton, Melissa Barrera, Cynthia Nixon and Josh O’Connor.

The text notes that examples of complicity include “whitewashing or justifying genocide and apartheid, and/or partnering with the government committing them.” Consequently, events such as the Jerusalem Film Festival, which maintains official ties with the Israeli state, would fall under the boycott.

“Despite operating within Israel’s system of apartheid and benefiting from it, the vast majority of production companies, distributors, sales agents, cinemas and other film institutions have never fully endorsed the internationally recognized rights of the Palestinian people,” states Film Workers for Palestine in its declaration.

The organizers explain that the initiative was inspired by the Filmmakers United Against Apartheid campaign, launched in 1987 by figures such as Jonathan Demme and Martin Scorsese, which called on the U.S. film industry to stop distributing movies in apartheid South Africa.

“In this urgent moment of crisis, when many of our governments are enabling the carnage in Gaza, we must do everything we can to address complicity in that unrelenting horror,” the text states.

Actress and comedian Hannah Einbinder emphasized the urgent nature of the declaration: “What we have been witnessing in Gaza over the past two years shocks the conscience. As a Jewish American citizen whose tax dollars directly fund Israel’s assault on Gaza, I feel we must do everything in our power to end the genocide.”

The movement follows in the footsteps of a similar statement in the publishing world: in 2023, more than 7,000 writers and book workers — including Sally Rooney and Viet Thanh Nguyen — signed a pledge to boycott Israeli publishers considered “complicit.”

Filmmakers’ Pledge

As filmmakers, actors, film industry workers, and institutions, we recognize the power of cinema to shape perceptions. 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 world’s highest court, the International Court of Justice, has ruled that there is a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza, and that Israel’s occupation and apartheid against Palestinians are unlawful. Standing for equality, justice, and freedom for all people is a profound moral duty that none of us can ignore. So too, we must speak out now against the harm done to the Palestinian people.

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.

Inspired by 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.

* Examples of complicity include whitewashing or justifying genocide and apartheid, and/or partnering with the government committing them.