Over 1,300 Filmmakers, Actors Pledge to Refuse to Work with Israeli Companies

September 9, 2025 News
Oscar, BAFTA, Emmy, and Cannes award winners are among more than 1,300 names in the film industry who pledged on Monday not to work with Israeli film institutions. (Photo: via social media)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

“We answer the call of Palestinian filmmakers, who have urged the international film industry to refuse silence, racism, and dehumanization.”

Oscar, BAFTA, Emmy, and Cannes award winners are among more than 1,300 names in the film industry who pledged on Monday not to work with Israeli film institutions and companies that are “implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people.”

“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,” the pledge stated.

Examples of complicity, the statement noted, include “white whitewashing or justifying genocide and apartheid, and/or partnering with the government committing them.”

Recognizing ‘Power of Cinema’

The signatories stated that 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,” they stressed.

The statement highlighted that the world’s highest court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), 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,” the statement said.

“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,” it added.

Signatories include Olivia Colman, Javier Bardem, Aimee Lou Wood, Susan Sarandon, Mark Ruffalo, Riz Ahmed, Tilda Swinton, Julia Sawalha, Miriam Margolyes, Ken Loach, and Juliet Stevenson. By Tuesday afternoon, there were more than 3,000 signatories.

Apartheid South Africa Campaign

Film Workers for Palestine, who published the pledge, said that “Despite operating in Israel’s system of apartheid, and therefore benefiting from it, the vast majority of Israeli film production & distribution companies, sales agents, cinemas and other film institutions have never endorsed the full, internationally-recognized rights of the Palestinian people.”

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The mass declaration was inspired by Filmmakers United Against Apartheid, which was founded by Jonathan Demme, Martin Scorsese and 100 other prominent filmmakers in 1987 to demand that the US film industry refuse to distribute films in apartheid South Africa.

According to a press statement, the current signatories, who include cinematographers, editors and cinema programmers, join a groundswell of protest in the film industry worldwide.

Unions’ Support

This includes an open letter from members of the US actor’s union, SAG-AFTRA, a motion by Britain’s performing arts and entertainment union, Equity UK, affirming the rights of arts workers to freedom of speech, it added. In addition, a motion recently passed by the Norwegian Actors Equity Association recommending its members reject work with Israeli arts and cultural institutions as long as the occupation and apartheid policies are in place.

“Standing in solidarity with Palestinian filmmakers shouldn’t only be on us as individual artists. Our unions—which were built on solidarity—have an ethical and legal obligation to take meaningful action until Israel ends its genocide and apartheid,” said Amin El Gamal, actor and chair of SAG-AFTRA’s National MENA Committee. “There is a precedent for this. In the 1980s, SAG voted twice in favor of the cultural boycott of apartheid South Africa and urged its members to refuse to perform in South Africa or for South African production companies.”

Ongoing Genocide

Since reneging on the ceasefire on March 18, Israel has continued its bloody aerial bombardment across the Gaza Strip, killing and wounding thousands of Palestinians.

Starting on October 7, 2023, the Israeli military, with American support, launched a genocidal war against the people of Gaza. This campaign has so far resulted in the deaths of more than 64,500 Palestinians, with more than 163,000 wounded. The vast majority of the population has been displaced, and the destruction of infrastructure is unprecedented since World War II. Thousands of people are still missing.

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In addition to the military assault, the Israeli blockade has caused a man-made famine, leading to the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians—mostly children—with hundreds of thousands more at risk.

Despite widespread international condemnation, little has been done to hold Israel accountable. The nation is currently under investigation for genocide by the International Court of Justice, while accused war criminals, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, are officially wanted by the International Criminal Court.

(PC, Anadolu)

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