The open letter states, “As filmmakers, actors, film industry workers, and institutions, we understand the influential capacity of cinema to mold perceptions.” It continues, “During this critical crisis, where numerous governments are facilitating the violence in Gaza, we must exhaust all measures to counteract complicity in such persistent terror.”

Film Workers for Palestine, which consists of film professionals from several countries and was established in early 2024, says their commitment was motivated by Filmmakers United Against Apartheid, who declined to showcase their films in apartheid-era South Africa.

The document affirms, “We pledge not to exhibit films, participate in, or cooperate with Israeli film entities — such as festivals, cinemas, broadcasters, and production companies — implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people.”

The coalition has not advocated for a complete boycott of all Israeli film entities. On their website, they assert that Israel’s public and private broadcasters have a longstanding history of obscuring, negating, and rationalizing Israel’s war crimes. Additionally, they criticize Israel’s primary film festivals — like the Jerusalem Film Festival, Haifa International Film Festival, and others — for partnering with the Israeli government amidst actions that top experts have labeled as genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

The coalition specifies that it does not view all film entities in Israel as culpable, urging individuals to seek guidance and “adhere to guidelines established by Palestinian civil society.”

The Jerusalem Film Festival did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The pledge clarifies its focus is on institutions, not individuals: “The appeal is for film workers to decline collaboration with Israeli institutions implicated in Israel’s human rights infringements against the Palestinian people. This opposition targets institutional complicity, not identity.”

A representative of the Israeli film and television industry called the boycott “misguided.”

“We are the industry that (has been) struggling for years, making efforts for decades to promote discussion,” working with Palestinians and Israelis to tell the story of the conflict from all sides, said Tzvika Gottlieb, CEO of the Israeli Film & TV Producers Association, in an interview.

Gottlieb said his industry “has consistently maintained a critical stance toward government policies, and is very vocal in criticism of this administration’s current actions. We urgently call for an immediate end to the violence, an end to the suffering, and the release of all hostages right now.”

His group added in official remarks that “this call for a boycott is profoundly misguided. By targeting us — the creators who give voice to diverse narratives and foster dialogue — these signatories are undermining their own cause and attempting to silence us.”

In response, Film Workers for Palestine issued a statement to The Associated Press, saying their initiative is “rooted in historic struggles,” in particular “the successful international movement to end the apartheid regime of South Africa.”

“Should Israeli film institutions wish to continue working with pledge signatories, their choice is clear: end complicity in Israel’s genocide and apartheid, and endorse the full rights of the Palestinian people under international law, in line with Palestinian civil society guidelines,” the statement said. “To date, almost none has.”

The pledge comes after a pro-Palestinian demonstration at the recent Venice International Film Festival drew an estimated 10,000 participants. That followed a call by a group called Venice4Palestine for the festival to condemn the destruction in Gaza.