Olivia Colman among 1,300 refusing to work with firms ‘implicated in genocide’

Actors Olivia Colman, Javier Bardem and Aimee Lou Wood are among more than 1,300 film workers who have signed a pledge to refuse to work with Israeli film institutions “implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people”.

The Film Workers For Palestine pledge was also signed by the likes of Susan Sarandon, Mark Ruffalo, Riz Ahmed, Tilda Swinton, Julia Sawalha, Miriam Margolyes, Ken Loach, and Juliet Stevenson.

A joint statement by the group read: “As filmmakers, actors, film industry workers, and institutions, we recognise 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.”

The group said that “standing for equality, justice, and freedom for all people is a profound moral duty that none of us can ignore” and added that they “must speak out now against the harm done to the Palestinian people”.

The statement continued: “We answer the call of Palestinian filmmakers, who have urged the international film industry to refuse silence, racism, and dehumanisation, 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.”

The group said that the majority of Israel’s film companies “have never endorsed the full, internationally-recognised rights of the Palestinian people” and added that this was “despite operating in Israel’s system of apartheid, and therefore benefiting from it”.

Absolutely Fabulous actress Sawalha, who has signed the declaration, said: “Witnessing the annihilation of the Palestinians in Gaza by Israel over the past two years has splintered the depths of me, and the unrelenting silence to their suffering is unconscionable.

“As an actress and artist, I carry both the right and the duty to use my voice to shatter the silence by taking action.

“This pledge is my way of joining a global community that refuses to be intimidated, that refuses to surrender to hopelessness, and that insists on saying loud and clear, the lives of Palestinians matter.”

The pledge makes clear that it does not prohibit those involved from working with Israeli people and is instead aimed at institutions.

Signatories of the letter are not limited to actors and also include the likes of editors and cinema programmers.