In 1922, Mark Twain wrote, “Some day a handful will rise up on the other side and make the most noise — perhaps even a single daring man with a big voice and a determined front will do it —, and witch-hunting will come to a sudden end.”
Since the Hamas massacre of Oct. 7, 2023, the shocking movement to erase both Jewish filmed content and Israeli content creators has not let up. Thousands of actors, directors and other film industry professionals have signed a pledge vowing not to work with Israel film institutions, citing their implication in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people. The Film Workers for Palestine open letter has over 5,000 signatories, among them Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, Emma Stone, Lily Gladstone, Bowen Yang, Guy Pearce and Elliot Page.
Sadly, it all smells like the Hollywood Blacklist in the 1950s, but this time the artists are turning on themselves. What a shame and set back for an industry that has enough to fight with from corporate consolidation to crippling strikes to the threat of artificial intelligence.
While the notion of artists using their platform to protest various political and human rights grievances goes back long before Jane Fonda was arrested for protesting the Vietnam War in 1970 and Marlon Brando’s infamous snub of the Oscars to support Native American rights in 1973, the fervor to create organized movements to block art and artists is beyond frightening, especially coming from the artists themselves.
The inconceivable theory that it is the artists themselves perpetrating alleged war crimes is so absurd — and yet intelligent, educated actors like those on the list above have sullied themselves by creating their own Hollywood blacklist. And to what end?
I had my own taste of this hypocrisy recently in launching my new film, “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue,” that documents a heroic rescue in Israel on Oct. 7.
I found myself in the eye of a political storm that became very personal. The Toronto International Film Festival had warmly accepted “The Road Between Us” in July of this year, and 30 days later, they yanked the film, citing a myriad of reasons from internal protest, external protest, security concerns and the lack of proof of clearance of Hamas footage slaughtering people, as if Hamas has a footage licensing division. I felt alone, until a huge community of supporters all over the world, including Hollywood, helped me fight this and said, “We will not be erased.”
The film was reinstated. It screened at a sold out TIFF world premiere, and the film even won the People’s Choice Award. This award was especially validating as it came from the audience and not from a conflicted jury, programmers or a film critics association.
If TIFF was not a big enough triumph, the most meaningful and emotive vindication came from screening the film in Israel last Thursday, Oct. 9. It played in front of a rapturous, sold-out audience of over 400 at the Haifa International Film Festival the very same day that the peace plan between Israel and Hamas was announced. What made that screening so meaningful to me was that in the audience were two surviving Kibbutz Nahal Oz residents who successfully fought continuously for 12 hours to save hundreds of residents from the invading terrorists: the widow of the Kibbutz security chief who lost his life that day and another retired general who helped our hero, Noam Tibon, liberate the Kibbutz.
There was not a dry eye in the house.
In a long career with dozens of documentaries under my belt, “The Road Between Us” was the first time I had felt targeted, and yet it was not my first rodeo. I was threatened not once but twice by legendary Hollywood lawyer Bert Fields for the Lew Wasserman film, “The Last Mogul,” and my two films on Harvey Weinstein, “Unauthorized” (IFC) and “The Reckoning” (Hulu). I also received anonymous threats on an unfinished Jeffery Epstein film, five years before he was arrested in 2019. I can take the threats and blows; it is part of the game.
But what is the point in boycotting art and artists and even preventing them from practicing their craft? The public holds all of the power. If they do not support an artist or country, they will not buy a ticket. That is enough.
The Israel-Hamas war ended for now and the hostages are home, and yet not one of these artists that signed the list has said a word. Nor have they moved on to other horrific causes such as Sudan, Yemen, The Congo, Somalia and too many others.
Hollywood does not need another blacklist. And for the record, I can choose to work or not work with the artists that signed that list, too. That is my right. But I am not making any kind of list, nor should any streamer or fellow artist.
Barry Avrich is the creative force behind Melbar Entertainment Group, one of the largest producers of non-scripted content in North America. Barry has produced and directed over 65 award-winning documentaries and filmed productions including “Made You Look,” “The Last Mogul,” “Prosecuting Evil,” and recently “Born Hungry” with Priyanka Chopra Jonas. Barry’s best selling memoir, “Moguls, Monsters and Madmen” was released in 2017, and his new book, “The Devil Wears Rothko: Inside The Art Scandal that Rocked the World” (Simon and Shuster) was released in June.
