Thousands in the film industry pledge to not work with 'complicit' Israeli institutions

Over 2,000 film industry workers — including big names like Javier Bardem, Aimee Lou Wood and Mark Ruffalo — have signed a pledge promising not to work with film institutions or governments that are "implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people."

"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 pledge reads in part.

Other signatories of note include Riz Ahmed, Olivia Colman, Ayo Edebiri, Tilda Swinton, Ava DuVernay, Adam McKay, Josh O'Connor, Brian Cox, Elliot Page and Emma Stone. The pledge is still open for more industry signatories to add their names, but had collected just over 2,100 as of 5 p.m. EST on Monday night.

The pledge was posted by Filmworkers for Palestine. The website describes it as a call endorsed by film industry workers to stand for "an end to genocide and for a free Palestine."

The group says the pledge is a response to calls from Palestinian filmmakers to "refuse silence, racism and dehumanization" against their oppression.

Taking the pledge means signatories commit to not working with Israeli film festivals, broadcasters, cinemas or other institutions that are implicated in genocide or apartheid. The pledge goes on to define complicity as "whitewashing or justifying" these things, as well as partnering with the Israeli government.

A frequently asked questions guide on the site says that while there are "a few Israeli film entities that are not complicit," the group argues that the majority of Israel's film companies and entities "have never endorsed the full, internationally-recognized rights of the Palestinian people."

The group clarifies that the pledge does not preclude film workers from working with Israeli individuals. "This refusal takes aim at institutional complicity, not identity," states the FAQ.

In a news release, Oscar-nominated film producer Mike Lerner said signing the petition was a non-violent tool that allowed signatories to speak out against what he called "deadly impunity."

"It is the responsibility of every independently minded artist to use whatever powers of expression they possess to support the global resistance to overcome this horror," Mike Lerner said in the release.

The pledge also says the action is inspired by the Filmmakers United Against Apartheid, a movement started in 1987 that aimed to stop American-made or financed movies from screening in South Africa during the apartheid.

The letter is by no means the first example of artists speaking out against the situation in Gaza. Nearly 63,000 Palestinians have been confirmed killed, according to health officials in the enclave, and a UN-backed group has declared a famine.

A petition released earlier this year that called out the "silence" in the film industry regarding the situation in Gaza drew signatures from Ruffalo, Pedro Pascal and Joaquin Phoenix. SAG-AFTRA members also called on their union leadership to protect members who make pro-Palestinian comments.

Another letter penned by Palestinian filmmakers in 2024 accused Hollywood of dehumanizing Palestinians in film depictions in a way that has enabled the killing of civilians.

And just a few weeks ago, protesters waved flags, unfurled signs and protested on the red carpet of the Venice Film Festival, demanding an end to what they called a genocide against Palestinians.

Similar action also broke out at the Toronto International Film Festival over the weekend, when a few dozen protesters laid towels smeared with red paint, meant to resemble killed children, at the feet of the TIFF sign near the intersection of King and University Streets.