After hundreds of actors, directors and other industry professionals signed a pledge to boycott Israeli film institutions, Paramount is voicing its dissent.
Responding to the Film Workers for Palestine‘s recent open letter, the media and entertainment conglomerate called out the organization for “silencing individual creative artists based on their nationality” amid Israel‘s ongoing conflict with Hamas.
“At Paramount, we believe in the power of storytelling to connect and inspire people, promote mutual understanding and preserve the moments, ideas and events that shape the world we share. This is our creative mission,” the company said in a statement.
“We do not agree with recent efforts to boycott Israeli filmmakers. Silencing individual creative artists based on their nationality does not promote better understanding or advance the cause of peace. The global entertainment industry should be encouraging artists to tell their stories and share their ideas with audiences throughout the world,” the statement continued. “We need more engagement and communication — not less.”
Earlier this week, Emma Stone, Peter Sarsgaard, Lily Gladstone, Elliot Page, Ava DuVernay and Olivia Colman were among the hundreds of signatories boycotting Israeli film institutions that are “implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people.”
The group said the pledge was inspired by the 1987 Filmmakers United Against Apartheid movement, founded by Jonathan Demme and Martin Scorsese at the height of apartheid in South Africa.
“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 letter read.
The organization said examples of complicity include “whitewashing or justifying genocide and apartheid, and/or partnering with the government committing them.”
In a statement in response to the pledge, the Israeli Film and TV Producers Association said, “The signatories of this petition are targeting the wrong people.”
“For decades, we Israeli artists, storytellers, and creators have been the primary voices allowing audiences to hear and witness the complexity of the conflict, including Palestinian narratives and criticism of Israeli state policies,” the statement read.
“We work with Palestinian creators, telling our shared stories and promoting peace and an end to violence through thousands of films, TV series, and documentaries. This call for a boycott is profoundly misguided.”
Meanwhile, Paramount is exploring a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery after coming under fire for canceling The Late Show on the heels of the company’s $16M settlement with Trump, which has been scrutinized as potential bribery by some lawmakers amid the company’s Skydance merger. Following Colbert’s ongoing jokes at the president’s expense, Trump has celebrated the talk show’s demise.
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