Key points
- Pledge urges boycott of Israeli film institutions
- Hollywood stars like Ruffalo and Colman sign
- Pledge condemns complicity in Gaza conflict
DUBAI: American actor David Corenswet, widely recognised for playing the title role in James Gunn’s “Superman,” is the latest Hollywood star to commit to the “Film Workers for Palestine” pledge. He joins an increasing number of figures from Hollywood expressing support for Palestinians.
Launched on 8th September, the pledge urges members of the entertainment industry to refrain from working with Israeli film institutions that are allegedly connected to “genocide and apartheid,” reports Arab News.
Among the signatories are Mark Ruffalo, Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Tilda Swinton, Riz Ahmed, and Javier Bardem.
“As filmmakers, actors, film industry workers, and institutions, we recognise the power of cinema to shape perceptions,” the pledge, launched on Sept. 8, stated.
“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,” it added.
Film Workers for Palestine
Film-makers Yorgos Lanthimos, Ava DuVernay, Asif Kapadia, Boots Riley and Joshua Oppenheimer also joined the signatories.
The statement, published by Film Workers for Palestine, commits signatories not to collaborate with institutions deemed complicit — including festivals, broadcasters and production companies — citing examples such as “whitewashing or justifying genocide and apartheid, and/or partnering with the government committing them.”
It continued: “We answer the call of Palestinian film-makers, 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.”
