1,200 film figures pledge not to work with Israeli institutions and companies "involved in genocide."

Film and television figures, including Oscar, BAFTA, Emmy, and Palme d'Or winners, have signed a pledge not to collaborate with Israeli institutions or companies "involved in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people," according to film outlet Variety and The Guardian. The list of signatories, which now exceeds 1,200 names, includes filmmakers such as Yorgos Lanthimos, Ava DuVernay, Joshua Oppenheimer and Mike Leigh, and actors such as Olivia Colman, Ayo Edebiri, Mark Ruffalo, Hannah Einbinder, Gael García Bernal, Riz Ahmed, Melissa Barrera, Cynthia Nixon, Julie Christie, Ilana Glazer, Rebecca Hall, Debra Winger, Tilda Swinton, Javier Bardem and Josh O'Connor.

“As filmmakers, actors, film industry workers, and institutions, we recognize the power of cinema to shape perceptions. 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 statement reads. “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 up for equality, justice, and freedom for all people is a profound moral duty that none of us can ignore. Likewise, we must speak out now against the harm being inflicted on the Palestinian people,” they note.

“Inspired by Filmmakers United Against Apartheid , who refused [in 1987] to screen their films in apartheid South Africa, we pledge not to screen films, attend or otherwise collaborate with Israeli film institutions—including festivals, cinemas, broadcasters and production companies—that are implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people,” the statement, already signed by more than 1,200 celebrities, reads.

The document contains a series of questions and answers that clarify the terms of their commitment. However, it does not explicitly mention a trade boycott, although it is one of the most prominent cultural boycotts announced against Israel since the start of the attack on Gaza, almost a year after more than 1,000 writers announced a similar commitment.

There are more campaigns underway in the film world to protest Israel's invasion of Gaza. Earlier this summer, hundreds of actors and filmmakers, including Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Ralph Fiennes, and director Guillermo del Toro, signed an open letter condemning what they described as the film industry's silence in the face of Israel's deadly military campaign in Gaza. Many of those signatories were also among the hundreds of Screen Actors Guild members who last year urged the union's leadership to protect its members from being blacklisted for their views on Palestine.

And in Venice, Hind's Voice was screened by Tunisian director Kaouther ben Hania, the true story of how on January 29, 2024, Hind, a six-year-old girl, was the only survivor in Gaza in a car riddled with bullets by Israeli troops, carrying her family. The girl remained in telephone contact with the Red Crescent for hours, until she died because help could not reach her. The film, nominated for an Oscar for Tunis, has executive producers Brad Pitt, Alfonso Cuarón, Rooney Mara, and Joaquin Phoenix.