Thank You for Signing & The Work Continues 🍉

Recent organizing across the industry for a free Palestine.

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We begin by saying thank you. Thank you for joining over 6,000 film workers who signed our statement and joined us as a Film Worker for Palestine (FWP for short) — demanding a ceasefire, an end to the Israeli occupation, and a free Palestine. 

As we move forward, one thing is clear: we are not alone. Film workers have honored Palestinian martyrs, made statements of solidarity, and organized for Palestinian liberation across virtually every major film festival and event this year to date, from Sundance and Rotterdam to the Independent Spirit Awards and the Australian International Documentary Conference. 

As we continue to grow, we plan to use this newsletter as a space to share recent organizing, relevant news, and essential information that will help us build power together.

Merawi Grima, a man with large curly hair and a red and white kuffiyeh, yells into a megaphonee outside the Independent Spirit Awards ceremony.

Organizer and filmmaker Merawi Gerima, joined by organizers from US Palestinian Community Network and National Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression, on the microphone outside the Film Independent Spirit Awards. Image: L.A. Times/Jason Armond.

Eyes on Rafah this Oscars Sunday

Tomorrow, millions will tune in to the Academy Awards. On the same day, the Israeli armed forces plan to launch a lethal ground invasion of Rafah — the most densely populated area on earth — on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan. They hope we will be too distracted to notice.

In community with Jewish Voice for Peace Los Angeles (JVP-LA), SAG-AFTRA Members for Ceasefire, and Adalah Justice Project, we’re urging film workers and watchers not to let our inattention be weaponized, and for us all to keep our eyes on Rafah.

FWP refuses to celebrate the film industry during the genocide of Palestinians, and we refuse to be complicit in the crimes of the American war machine.

A graphic mimicking a movie poster with an image of a muslim woman holding her baby as she walks through the bombed streets in Gaza. Text reads, "For your consideration: Ceasefire Now." Logos of Film Workers for Palestine, Adalah Justice Projct, Jewish Voice for Peace LA and SAG-AFTRA Memers for Ceasefiree, each hugged by whit film laurels. Below, text reads, "Dont be distracted. Eyes on Rafah. Osccars action in L.A. premieres March 10, 1:00pm, Cinerama Dome."

Graphic: Film Workers for Palestine. Image: UNICEF/Omar Al-Qattaa.

Los Angeles film workers can join us in action at 1 PM on March 10 (Oscars Sunday) at the Cinerama Dome at 6370 Sunset Blvd. Film workers and watchers elsewhere can stay tuned to our Instagram for updates. 

Berlinale Dispatch

On the steps of the Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin, a prson in a coat and red pants yells into a megaphone, next to a large white banner with bold red text, which reads, "WELCOME TO THE RED CARPET."

An action from autonomous Berlin residents at the European Film Market/Berlinale. Image: Autonomous Berlin organizers.

At the Berlinale, film workers challenged the festival’s silence about the genocide in Gaza and the repression of pro-Palestinian speech by the German government, which is the Berlinale’s primary funder. In solidarity with Strike Germany, several filmmakers withdrew their projects and labor from the festival’s various sections, labs, and Talents programs — courageous actions that no doubt played a part in the curators of Forum Expanded publicly calling for a ceasefire at the festival. 

Coalitions of Berlinale workers, filmmakers, and Talents alumni published letters, calling upon the festival to condemn the massacre in Gaza and take a clear stance for a ceasefire. During the festival, film workers and local activists organized vigils, read statements of solidarity, and disrupted the European Film Market with a banner drop and a die-in.

Three posts from the Berlinale Panorama account. The first, has a bear and states, "Genocide is Genocide. We Are All complicit."The second states, "In response to Pro-Palestinian actions that targeted Berlinale 2024, and in lgith of the extreme rise of the far-right in Germany, we acknowledgee that our silence makes us complicit in Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing of Palestine. After long internal discussions, we have deecided to finally shed the idea that "German guilt" absolves us of our country's history, or our current crimes as a nation. We are raising our voice to join the millions around the world who demand an immediate and permenant ceasefire, and we urge otheer cultural institutions in Germany to do the same." The third pot reads, "From our unresolved Nazi past to our genocidal present - we have ealways been on the wrong side of history. But it's not too late to change our future."

An unofficial carousel infographic post was shared on Berlinale’s Instagram account on Sunday, February 25. Image: Hyperallergic.

At the awards ceremony, several winners made statements in support of Palestinian lives, including Golden Bear–recipient and FWP signatory Mati Diop as well as Berlinale Documentary Film Award–winners Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham (Palestinian and Israeli co-directors of No Other Land). Adra and Abraham’s speeches were met with accusations of anti-Semitism by German politicians and media, and Abraham’s family in Israel was threatened by right-wing mobs â€” even as Adra’s family and the Palestinian community in Masafer Yatta face ongoing state violence and ethnic cleansing.

FWP stands firmly in solidarity with Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham, and denounces the dangerous weaponization of charges of anti-Semitism to suppress calls for justice in Palestine. 

Get Plugged In

Five people wearing keffiyehs stand in the street at Berlinale. They smile toward the camera..

A group of Film Workers for Palestine at Berlinale. Image: Film Workers for Palestine.

Want to get plugged into our organizing work? Film Workers for Palestine recently launched an intake form that will connect interested film workers to our ongoing organizing efforts. 

Please only fill out this form if you are available and able to organize with us. We acknowledge that this is volunteer work, so if you do not have the capacity right now, we understand. You can continue to stay up-to-date by following our social media accounts and staying subscribed to this newsletter.                             

We are just getting started, and we will remain steadfast until Palestine is free.

In solidarity, 
Film Workers for Palestine