In mid-October, “Fauda” producer Liat Benasuly fired off an email to a group of nearly 100 people who had recently converged at former Paramount chief Sherry Lansing’s Los Angeles home. Attendees included “The Big Bang Theory” star Mayim Bialik and singer Montana Tucker, and the topic at hand was one rarely discussed outside of similar informal gatherings — that Israeli content creators are increasingly becoming pariahs in the global marketplace. As a result, the next hit series like “Fauda,” “Homeland” or “Euphoria” could die on the vine. In the email, Benasuly issued a dire warning and solicited donations for a newly formed 501(c)(3) dubbed Friends of Israeli Film & TV Producers Association.
“As you may know, a significant number of our investors and partners have paused their collaborations with Israeli storytellers and producers since October 7th,” she wrote. “Most projects in our industry now face a funding gap of approximately 20-30%. This funding gap has had a significant impact on our industry and the ability to create great content. This is a serious problem effecting [sic] an industry that has been one of the great stories out of Israel over the past decade+.”
The unexpected plight of the country’s film and TV producers underscores a tense climate in the entertainment industry in the wake of last year’s Oct. 7 terror attack in Israel and that government’s ongoing military response in Gaza. In fact, both sides of the Israel divide say they are being boycotted and blacklisted as the conflict drags on in its second year and claim that secret dossiers are being kept by opposing camps to document who is deemed unhireable. On one hand, Israelis have become persona non-grata, particularly on the film festival front — even when their work and social media profiles are apolitical. On the other hand, pro-Palestinian industryites who have been vocal on the topic are under siege and facing economic repercussions.
Susan Sarandon proved that even an Oscar winner with a thriving career isn’t immune from the backlash when she was dropped by UTA last year for saying at a pro-Palestinian rally, “There are a lot of people that are afraid, that are afraid of being Jewish at this time, and are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country, so often subjected to violence.” Although the actress apologized at the time, her longtime agents at UTA moved quickly to cut ties with her.
“I don’t know how Nancy Gates and Shani Rosenzweig, friends and representatives for 10 years, came to the decisions to drop me,” Sarandon tells Variety. “Nancy informed me she was a Zionist as an explanation. I’ve been politically active my entire life so for them to rush to Page Six at this particular time to make the announcement shows the intention of sensationalizing their decision. I believe everyone has a right to boycott. It’s one of the few useful tools voiceless populations have.” (UTA declined comment.)
The career reverberations were immediate for Sarandon. “I have lost work,” she adds. “I have lost friends and family, but I have also gained inspiration from those who care enough about humanity and believe enough in the possibility of a better world to raise their voices to stop genocide. I’m grateful for my new empathic, brave friends and family. I abhor violence against any population. Just as large of a threat is the crushing of our First Amendment rights. That is what makes fascism possible. No one is free until all of us our free.”
At the same time, Israeli filmmakers say their projects are being deliberately excluded on the festival circuit by gatekeepers, some of whom have signaled support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement on social media. When the Toronto Film Festival kicked off on Sept. 5, Israeli product was noticeably absent. The exception was Shemi Zarhin’s relationship drama “Bliss,” a last-minute addition that was not part of the initial lineup announcement on Aug. 6 that did include four films from Palestinian directors. TIFF did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Similarly, Sundance last year rejected Israeli director Tom Nesher’s drama “Come Closer,” which centers on a young woman grappling with the accidental death of her brother. Sources say former Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente loved the drama, but programmers nixed it following heated deliberations. (Sundance declined comment.) The film was then submitted to Tribeca earlier this year, and a prescreening committee passed on it. Tribeca Enterprises chief Jane Rosenthal called for a reconsideration, and members of the senior programming team then screened the film and accepted it. (Tribeca declined comment.)
“Come Closer” went on to win the Viewpoints Award at Tribeca and has been embraced in Israel. It took the top prize at the Ophir film awards, the country’s equivalent of the Oscars, and will represent Israel as its selection for best international feature at the 97th Academy Awards. Still, it continues to face backlash along the festival circuit. Last month, pro-Palestinian activists in Greece demanded that the film be pulled from the Thessaloniki Film Festival. When it wasn’t, they protested at the event, calling the apolitical film a form of “artwashing.”
Veteran Hollywood dealmaker Craig Emanuel, who is the in-house counsel at Ryan Murphy Prods. and has advised Sundance in the past, says the festivals aren’t even attempting to hide their new mandate.
“During my participation at the Jerusalem Film Festival in July, filmmakers and producers shared with me that they are being told by programmers for the major festivals, including Sundance and Toronto, that they are not comfortable taking Israeli films or documentaries at this point in time. Programmers are saying they are concerned about pushback and demonstrations regardless of whether [a film] is political or not,” Emanual says. “That’s just not a healthy thing for us as an industry or a society.”
If festival brass was hoping to avoid protests, they failed. A group descended on the Princess of Wales Theatre on TIFF’s opening night and voiced their displeasure with festival partner Royal Bank of Canada, chanting “RBC funds genocide” and interrupting the celebration.
On the flip side of the Israel divide, several people who spoke to Variety insist that Hollywood is punishing talent for voicing a pro-Palestinian viewpoint. Variety previously reported that Hollywood marketing guru Ashlee Margolis told staffers to refrain from working with anyone “posting against Israel.” Likewise, “Snow White” producer Marc Platt texted WME leadership asking why Boots Riley was still a client after the “Sorry to Bother You” writer-director called a screening of Hamas atrocities “murderous propaganda.” (WME was unmoved, and Riley remains at the agency.)
Meanwhile, others have lost jobs and representation. Spyglass fired Melissa Barrera from the “Scream” franchise over polarizing social media posts about the conflict. And CAA dropped an assistant as well as author clients Saira Rao and Regina Jackson shortly after the Oct. 7 attacks due to controversial public posts and statements about Israel. (Rao declined to comment for this story but previously told Variety, “The genocide is indisputable. You can watch it on live TV. CAA will be on the wrong side of history.”).
Roger Waters became the highest-profile person to face career fallout. In January, BMG severed ties with the Pink Floyd co-founder over his long-standing criticism of Israel, which has drawn the condemnation of his former bandmate David Gilmour. The professional divorce between Waters and BMG, terms of which are still being settled, has enormous financial implications for both the music publisher and the artist. Waters says the Anti-Defamation League, a group with deep connections in Hollywood and that is represented by UTA, pressured BMG’s parent company Bertelsmann to drop him. “Of course it hurts me [financially]. “$50 million, $100 million. I’ve no idea,” Waters tells Variety. “I was flabbergasted. I went, ‘You’re kidding me?’ … [ADL CEO] Jonathan Greenblatt shouldn’t be at the table for conversations about my professional career.” (In response, Greenblatt says: “Let’s be clear, there’s a big difference between artists facing consequences for expressing antisemitism or other forms of hate compared to being shunned simply for where they come from or what religion they are.”)
In fact, others say Hollywood has become inhospitable to Israelis, even fictitious ones. This past summer, Disney drew fire for whitewashing elements of superheroine Sabra/Ruth Bat-Seraph’s Israeli identity from its upcoming Marvel tentpole “Captain America: Brave New World,” with the character’s backstory as a Mossad agent excised. Sabra, who is played by Israeli actress Shira Haas, will now be a Widow. (In the comic books, the Widows are KGB-trained).
“The whole idea of Marvel Studios in the last decade was trying to be more inclusive, like to feature a Muslim Pakistani [with superhero Kamala Khan in ‘The Marvels’],” says Israeli influencer Hen Mazzig. “But to change the character of an Israeli spy [in the comics] to a Russian spy, and thinking that this is better, like ‘What world do we live in?’”
The Israeli directors, producers and actors who spoke to Variety claim they are being punished simply because of their nationality rather than for expressing a political stance. Some say festival programmers overtly told them that they are afraid of courting anti-Israeli protestors.
Shoval Tshuva says her short film “Funky,” a personal story about sexual assault, was pulled from multiple festivals, sometimes without explanation, in the aftermath of Oct. 7.
“I made a film about the most dehumanizing experience that I ever had to go through. And in a way, I was so focused on being a woman and telling a female story that I forgot that I’m Israeli and Jewish and that that comes with a whole other sort of discrimination,” Tshuva says. “The fact is Israeli filmmakers are getting systematically cancelled.”
Similarly, Dylan Joseph was shopping for a sales company to help find a distributor for his short film “French,” which follows intrigue at a nail salon. He approached one that had been recommended by some of his Israeli filmmaker friends who had worked with the company in the past.
“The guy who runs the sales agency responded, ‘We’re not working with Israeli films now during the war as we work with a lot of Lebanese and Palestinian filmmakers,’” Joseph says. “In other words, he was basically telling me to fuck off and that there’s no room for Israeli cinema right now.’” (Variety has viewed the exchange.)
All the while, Israelis say their job prospects have dimmed significantly over the past year. Dana Schneider, a commercials producer whose credits include spots for Budweiser and Trip Advisor, feels like a pariah.
“I was having the busiest year in my career up until October, and then I just watched it crumble within a matter of weeks,” says Schneider. “[The reason why] is insinuated. It’s not in-your-face clear. And that’s what makes it so insidious and makes you doubt it. It could be something else. It could be a million other things. But deep down, your gut is telling you something’s not right here.”
With the war in Gaza showing no sign of ending, some believe the muzzling of speech and arbitrary boycotts will hurt the film community.
“What kind of bland and uninteresting art will be made at a time when artists are constantly looking over their shoulders?” Sarandon asks.
Waters says the entertainment industry has been eager to distance itself from any viewpoints that deviate from the non-offensive middle for some time. Back at the 2014 edition of TIFF, he debuted his concert film “Roger Waters: The Wall,” which received a rapturous response.
“After the showing, some bloke from Netflix came up to management and said, ‘This is fantastic. Love the movie. We definitely want to do a deal. I’ll call you in the morning,’” he recalls. “Next morning, they didn’t call. So, [my] management called [and was told], ‘Actually, I’m not sure this is quite right for Netflix.”
Waters can envision the flurry of calls in between. “’Are you crazy? You are not doing business with Roger Waters. He’s on the blacklist,’” he quips.
Despite a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, the film inexplicably never found a theatrical distributor.
