Hollywood, what did you do during Israel's war on Gaza?

Last week, the grassroots organization Cinema for Gaza raised on $326,000 for Medical Aid to the Palestinians (MAP) by auctioning donations provided by personalities from the world of cinema, notably Tilda SwintonAyo Edebiri and Josh O’Connor.

Initially a small operation, organized by a group of UK-based filmmakers and authors, it initially offered prizes such as an extra role in Gurinder Chadha's next film or a Zoom mentoring session with a director.

But the effort quickly grew into something much bigger: Cinema For Gaza captured the spirit of the moment.

For his supporters, there was also a hint of relief at finally being able to provide vocal support for Palestine without fear of demonization or professional reprisals.

The reversal of trend, certainly in the world of cinema, has been gradual, but two key moments have contributed significantly.

The first was Jonathan Glazer's speech at this year's Oscars in early March, when he accepted the award for best international feature film for the Holocaust drama. The area of ​​interest.

This is by far the most important and uncompromising statement made by an artist since the October 7 attacks by Hamas, which initially earned him opprobrium and dismay.

Shocked and hurt

The condemnation came from Son of Saul director Laszlo Nemes in the Guardian, which won the same prize in 2016, and a thousand Jewish creators published an open letter of denunciation.

In fact, anyone could sign the letter, which was a simple Google form that didn't ask if the signatories were Jewish or creative professionals. One of the names was Riverto Theseusa phrase game from the river to the sea.

---

Follow Middle East Eye's live coverage for all the latest news on the Israeli-Palestinian war.

---

Glazer, however, remained firm. From what I've been told, he was extremely shocked and hurt by the treatment he received – and bravely provided cover for other artists wishing to highlight the plight of Palestinians in the genocide in progress. It was later supported by a group of Jewish artists, filmmakers, writers and creative professionals, as well as the director of the Auschwitz Memorial.

The second moment, earlier this month, came after targeted Israeli strikes that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, which drew condemnation from all sides and briefly united the Western press in horror. After all, it is harder to cover up the killing of white Western humanitarian workers than that of Palestinian children.

One of the creators of Cinema For Gaza, journalist Hanna Flint, said this in comments to the media. Following the October 7 attacks and Israel's immediate retaliation, she told The Hollywood Reporter that she noticed a fear of speaking out, adding that sometimes it takes that kind of collective voice to help people express themselves. feel courageous and say: I want to get up. and help.

That’s certainly true – and seeing it come to fruition is encouraging. But it's also a generosity, perhaps unwarranted, from the industry's legions of powerful and prominent figures who have spent months saying nothing for fear of damaging their reputations.

Those who spoke out very early were notable for their rarity. The dismissal of the actress Melissa Barrera from the next part of the Shout the franchise, in November, functioned as a warning.

Barrera was fired for sharing an article accusing Israel of genocide and ethnic cleansing – a position that, five months later, is virtually public orthodoxy, after the ICJ ruled in January that there were reasonable grounds to conclude that Israel may have committed acts of genocide.

Barrera's other thought crime was sharing an article claiming that Israel distorts facts about the Holocaust to boost its arms industry. Once again, this argument, which was studied in the work of Pankaj Mishra and Antony Loewenstein, among others, is hardly otherworldly.

“Everyone has a voice”

In December, Wonders Actor Saagar Shaikh spoke about his little contribution in promoting the film.

I just don't think it matters. It's a fucking movie and people are dying. And we pay for it”, he said. “I don't care if my job is on the line because I'll find another one. I'll become a carpenter if I have to.”

He added: “Everyone has a voice. If you're not using it, why are you here?”

Everyone has a voice, but you would have been forgiven for not knowing that during the first months of the war last year. Hollywood hasn't been this quiet since the silent film era.

Meanwhile, the film industry largely continued its usual blithe and supposedly apolitical course, stopping occasionally to peer into the world outside the theaters and ask hard-hitting questions such as: Is this something I should be aware of? »

The world of cinema was, in a sense, only imitating the distraught or petrified arts organizations around the world.

At the Amsterdam International Documentary Festivalin November, several directors removed their films from the official selection after the festival management severely condemned the phrase from the river to the sea during a demonstration on the opening night.

Offering a scathing critique of a call for freedom rather than the murder of – at this point – 14,000 Palestinians would be laughable if it were not so unhinged and cowardly.

But the film world was, in a sense, only imitating the distraught or petrified arts organizations around the world.

The Frankfurt Book Fair, the Folkwang Art Museum, the Barbican, the Lisson Gallery, the Hannah Arendt Prize (!) and Paris City Hall are some of the organizations that have canceled artist or exhibition events. writers supporting Gaza over the past six months.

Call of shame

In February, this call to shame was joined by the Berlin Film Festival, when its outgoing directors announced that they were starting criminal proceedings against an agent who had hacked the website to say, among other things, about the river at the sea.

Around the same time, German officials announced they would investigate how the festival allowed biased speeches in favor of Palestine to be made during the closing ceremony, including by several cinema professionals.

Mariette Rissenbeekthe executive director of the festival, spoke out to demand the release of captives held by Hamas.

But one award acceptance speech by Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Basel Adra, attacking Israel's occupation of Palestine, which quickly went viral, was strongly condemned by German authorities, who led a campaign against any artist – including many artists Jews – who speaks out.

Abraham (who is Jewish) was called an anti-Semite and thrown to the wolves in German commentaries.

Cinema For Gaza organizers led by example, participating in the marches from the start and using their platforms to share news and messages of support, protest and requests for funding.

Other film industry professionals may want to consider their responses at a time when it was personally risky to take a stand.

But it seems far-fetched to hope that the cinema world has learned lasting lessons from what has happened in Gaza since October 7.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policies of Middle East Eye.