An open letter from artists and celebrities urges not to look away from Palestine
- As the European Film Awards approach, the Venice4Palestine collective gathers dozens of Italian and European personalities to show support for the case
If 2026 began with an avalanche of events and news that gave the impression of living in a Hollywood dystopia, we must acknowledge the consistency and courage of many artists and workers in the film world in using their visibility to denounce violations and injustices.
If Palestine and Gaza have been paradigmatic in demonstrating the impotence of international organisations to safeguard, protect and defend international law, the picture we see today (from Iran to Venezuela, from Ukraine to Greenland, from ICE raids to the risks of military operations in Taiwan) dramatically confirms that the macabre test on Gaza and now in the occupied West Bank has succeeded.
And in the face of the awkward stammering of many institutions and the media coverage of many newspapers, celebrities and film workers are still at the forefront of continuing to talk about Palestine, and linking genocide and rights violations to the acceleration of abuses in the four corners of the world.
Javier Bardem, blacklisted by Paramount for his vocal stance on Gaza, along with many other film workers signed the Pledge to sanction the Netanyahu government and boycott complicit institutions. Mark Ruffalo, also at the forefront alongside the Palestinian people, did not hesitate to display an anti-ICE pin at the Golden Globes ceremony, and he was not the only one. Confirming the trans-sectional nature of his principles, Ruffalo, along with dozens of artists, added his name to that of many doctors, leaders of human rights organisations and NGOs to ask the State of Israel and world leaders for the immediate restoration of medical care and aid to Gaza (read here).
On 17 January, the European Film Awards ceremony will be held in Berlin. Venice4Palestine, the Italian collective that mobilised artists and film workers to shine a spotlight on Gaza during the last Venice Film Festival, has sent an open letter (read here) to the new board and presidency, signed by dozens of Italian and European personalities (from Matteo Garrone to Annie Ernaux, from Jasmine Trinca to Céline Sciamma, from Roger Waters to Yannis Varoufakis). "We want to continue to believe in cinema and in the people who make it, who love it and who watch it. And who celebrate it. Let us remember: this year's EFA nominees, such as The Voice of Hind Rajab [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kaouther Ben Hania
film profile] and With Hasan in Gaza [+see also:
film review
interview: Kamal Aljafari
film profile], tell the stories of real people, real bombings, real crimes perpetrated by the Netanyahu government with the complicity of our countries. We can join their form of resistance. We can live up to these works and continue to tell the truth well beyond the duration of a film. (...) ‘Fear Eats the Soul,’ Fassbinder once warned us.”
The letter continues, “We urge everyone not to be afraid, because there is still so much we can do. (…) At this moment in history, European cinema and the European Film Academy can seize the opportunity to express our most uncomfortable feelings and thoughts, especially if we can all summon a little more courage.”
(Translated from Italian)
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