This is a statement written by filmmakers in NYFF62.
We are filmmakers and film workers who are participating in the 62nd New York Film Festival or who have participated in past editions of the NYFF. For almost a year, many of us have been acting collectively towards ending the complicity of our institutions as Israel has subjected the Palestinians of Gaza to a brutal onslaught of killing, maiming, displacement and the devastating destruction of homes, hospitals, universities, schools, roads, and food and water infrastructure.
We are, therefore, deeply troubled by NYFF’s partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies, an institution that is directly implicated in facilitating settlement infrastructure in the West Bank and denying Palestinians their basic rights.
Bloomberg Philanthropies partners with the Sagol Family to run the Bloomberg-Sagol Center for City Leadership. This past year, the program trained mayors and city officials from Modi'in Illit and Mateh Binyamin Regional Council representing more than 40 West Bank settlements, which were found illegal by the International Court of Justice in July 2024.
Facilitating settlement infrastructure is not philanthropy; it is aiding and abetting a war crime. These illegal settlements are part of Israel’s broader campaign of ethnic cleansing and displacement, which Amnesty International has designated as apartheid against the Palestinian people.
The organization’s namesake, Michael Bloomberg, has also made shameful remarks in support of Israel’s cruel and unlawful strategy of bombing Palestinian hospitals and schools in Gaza.
On the day No Other Land had its press screening at NYFF, Palestinian director Basel Adra’s home in the West Bank was invaded by Israeli soldiers and his father kidnapped, bound, blindfolded and held at a settlement outpost.
As filmmakers and cultural workers, our creative expression should not be used to launder war crimes, particularly when many of our films shown in this year’s festival shed light on and demand justice in the face of state violence.
In January of this year the International Court of Justice (ICJ) recognized the plausible risk of genocide in Gaza. In July the ICJ ordered Israel to leave the Occupied Palestinian West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza “as rapidly as possible,” condemned its regime of racial segregation and apartheid, and declared the transfer and maintenance of settlers to the West Bank and East Jerusalem unlawful.
In light of the gravity of the charges against the Israeli state and the scale of suffering inflicted on millions of Palestinians in Gaza, as well as those in the West Bank who are subject to settler and military violence, we call on the board and directors of the NYFF to review its financial ties and take urgent action to end their relationship with Bloomberg Philanthropies and any other funders lending material support to war crimes.
We call upon leaders at this and other cultural institutions to take a clear stance against artwashing genocide and apartheid, while upholding the rights of artists, activists, and staff who advocate for Palestine.
We further urge the New York Film Festival to call for a permanent ceasefire and an end to the siege in Gaza, without which Israel's genocide will continue, as famine and disease take hold across besieged and occupied Gaza.
If you are a filmmaker or film worker (staff, press, or industry) with a connection to NYFF, you can join this open letter here.
Supporting NYFF62 Workers' Statement
Several NYFF62 workers have signed in solidarity and added this statement. It was not reviewed by other signatories aside from "NYFF62 Workers," below.
We are a coalition of NYFF62 workers employed seasonally and year-round, in various capacities. We stand in solidarity with NYFF-affiliated filmmakers and film workers in their call for the festival’s board and directors to review its financial ties to, and end its relationship with, Bloomberg Philanthropies, given its connections to Israel’s illegal settlements in the West Bank.
We are proud to present No Other Land at our festival, and stand in solidarity with the film’s Palestinian co-director, Basel Adra, whose father was kidnapped, bound, blindfolded, and held by Israeli forces at a settlement outpost in the West Bank last week.
We also urge the NYFF board and leadership to call for a permanent ceasefire in Palestine, and to uphold the rights of artists, activists, and workers who advocate for Palestine.
We recognize, as workers, that our labor runs the festival. We also recognize that FLC and NYFF are not the only institutions or festivals in New York, the U.S., or the world to receive support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, and from other corporations and individuals complicit in war crimes. We call upon NYFF to do the right thing and to serve as a model for other festivals, and we urge our fellow arts workers to do what they can, as precarious as we all are in this industry, to draw attention to the terrible violence being unleashed by Israel against Palestinians.
Signatories, last updated September 30, 8:45a.m. ET:
NYFF 62:
Rhayne Vermette, A Black Screen Too, Artist, Exovedate Productions LTD
Abby Sun, An All-Around Feel Good, Producer
Jordan Lord, An All-Around Feel Good, Director
David Barker, Apocalypse in the Tropics, Co-writer, editor
Malena Szlam, Archipelago of Earthen Bones — To Bunya, Filmmaker
John Smith, Being John Smith, Filmmaker
Adam Piron, Black Glass, Filmmaker, COUSIN
Ben Russell, DIRECT ACTION, Co-director
Guillaume Cailleau, DIRECT ACTION, Co-director
Amber A’Lee Frost, Eephus, Producer, ColdFeet Films
Carson Lund, Eephus, Writer/Director, Omnes Films
Chris Wade, Eephus, Producer, ColdFeet Films
Erik Lund, Eephus, Production Design / Composer, Omnes Films
Michael Basta, Eephus, Writer, Producer, Omnes Films
Nate Fisher, Eephus, Writer/actor
Will Menaker, Eephus, Producer, ColdFeet Films
Taylor J. Williams, Eephus, 2nd AC, Reporting Critic
Tyler Taormina, Eephus, Producer, Omnes films
Morgan Quaintance, Efforts of Nature, Filmmaker
Aiko Masubuchi, Happyend, Producer
Bill Kirstein, Happyend, Cinematographer
Lia Ouyang Rusli, Happyend, Composer
Neo Sora, Happyend, writer, director
Albert Tholen, Happyend, Producer and Editor
Mike Leigh, Hard Truths, Director
Athina Rachel Tsangari, Harvest, Director and Co-writer
Marie-Elena Dyche, Harvest, Producer, Meraki Films
Rebecca O'Brien, Harvest, Producer, Sixteen Films
Alberto Balázs, Hemel, Cinematographer
Danielle Dean, Hemel, Director/Artist, Danielle Dean Studios & LONO
Luke W. Moody, Hemel, Producer, LONO
Maiko Endo, Jizai, Filmmaker
G. Anthony Svatek, Little, Big, and Far, Associate Producer
Jem Cohen, Little, Big, and Far, Director, Gravity Hill
Miranda Pennell, Man number 4, Writer Director
Julia Loktev, My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow, Director
Basel Adra, No Other Land, Filmmaker
Hamdan Balall, No Other Land, Filmmaker
Yuval Abraham, No Other Land, Filmmaker
Francisco Rodríguez Teare, October Noon, Director
Robert Greene, Pavements, Producer, Editor
Nelson Carlos De Los Santos Arias, Pepe, Filmmaker
Maryam Tafakory, Razeh-del, Filmmaker
Simon Liu, Refuse Room, Filmmaker
Evan Johnson, Rumours, Filmmaker
Galen Johnson, Rumours, Filmmaker
Guy Maddin, Rumours, Filmmaker
Zachary Epcar, Sinking Feeling, Filmmaker
Rosalind Nashashibi, The Invisible Worm, Filmmaker
Ei Toshinari, The Sealed Soil and Nightshift, Distributor, Arbelos Films
Blair McClendon, Union, Editor
Brett Story, Union, Director
Malika Zouhali-Worrall, Union, Editor
Mars Verrone, Union, Producer
Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe, Union, Composer
Samantha Curley, Union, Producer, Level Ground Productions
Steve Maing, Union, Filmmaker
Louisa Schabas, Universal Language, Production Designer
Matthew Rankin, Universal Language, Director, co-writer
Pirouz Nemati, Universal Language, Executive Producer, Actor & Writer
Sylvain Corbeil, Universal Language, Producer, Metafilms
Ila Firouzabadi, Universal language, Co-writer, executive producer
Pablo Marín, Vibrant Matter, Director
Nicolas Graux, Viet and Nam, Filmmaker
Nguyen Thi Xuan Trang, Viet and Nam, Producer, Lagi Limited
Son Doan, Viet and Nam, Director of Photography
Truong Minh Quy, Viet and Nam, Filmmaker
Lucia Ahrensdorf, Critic, FLC Critics Academy
Amanda Chen, Critic, FLC Critics Academy
Julia Gunnison, Critic, FLC Critics Academy
Matilda Hague, FLC Critics Academy
Jonathan Mackris, Critic, FLC Critics Academy
Celia Mattison, Critic, FLC Critics Academy
Madeline Ostdick, Critic, FLC Critics Academy
Bren Wyona, Filmmaker, FLC Artists Academy
Jard Lerebours, Filmmaker, FLC Artists Academy
Kevin Xian Ming Yu, Artist, FLC Artists Academy
Philip Thompson, FLC Artists Academy
Zoë Hodge, Filmmaker, FLC Artists Academy
Herb Shellenberger, Short film viewer, NYFF
NYFF62 Workers:
Anonymous
Anonymous
Anonymous
Chelsea Tomasi
Chandra Knotts
Katie Zwick
Manny Lage-Valera
Will Hair
Iris Lin
Devika Girish
Manuel Santini
Katie Skelly
James Malzone
Behnam Ardebili
Dan Welch
Madeline Whittle
Kyle Milner
Nicholas Byrne
Cici Peng
Gabriela Palaia
Michael Blair
Anna Glovin
Jonathan Burton
Henry Camacho
Vikram Murthi
M I
Erik Luers
Elise Williams
Cait Carvalho
Gavin Mevius
Mettie Ostrowski
Filmmakers and film workers from prior editions:
Adam Khalil, Filmmaker, New Red Order
Aki Kaurismäki, Filmmaker
Alena Lodkina, Filmmaker
Alexandre Larose, Filmmaker
Ana Vaz, Filmmaker
Andrew Norman Wilson, Filmmaker
Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Filmmaker
Aria Dean, Filmmaker
Ariane Labed, Actor, director
Arthur Harari, Filmmaker
Basma al-Sharif
Beatrice Gibson, Filmmaker
Ben Rivers, Filmmaker
Bingham Bryant, Filmmaker
Blake Williams, Filmmaker
Carl Elsaesser, Filmmaker
Christopher Harris, Filmmaker
Colectivo Los Ingrávidos, Filmmaker, Zonaingrávida, Tonalli
Daïchi Saïto, Filmmaker
Dani ReStack, Filmmaker
Daniel Chew, Filmmaker
Deborah Stratman, Filmmaker
Deragh Campbell
Elisabeth Subrin, Filmmaker
Faraz Anoushahpour, Filmmaker
Frances Scott, Filmmaker
Hany Abu-Assad, Filmmaker
Isiah Medina, Filmmaker
Jackson Polys, Artist, New Red Order
James Schamus, Producer
James N. Kienitz Wilkins, Moviemaker
James Wilson, Producer, The Zone of Interest
Jessica Dunn Rovinelli, Filmmaker, former staff
Joanna Arnow, Director, Writer, Actor, Editor, The Feeling That…
Joshua Gen Solondz, Filmmaker
Kerry Laitala, Filmmaker
L. Castaing-Taylor, Filmmaker, Harvard University
Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Private Ear, Earshot.ngo
Leonardo Pirondi, Filmmaker
Lynne Sachs, Filmmaker
Mackie Mallison, Filmmaker
Mark Rappaport, Filmmaker
Mary Helena Clark, Filmmaker
Meriem Bennani, Filmmaker, Life on the CAPS
Micaela Durand, Filmmaker
Michael Robinson, Filmmaker
Mike Crane, Filmmaker
Nathan Silver, Filmmaker
Nazli Dincel, Filmmaker
Parastoo Anoushahpour, Filmmaker
Paul B. Preciado, Filmmaker and writer
Peggy Ahwesh, filmmaker
Rebecca Baron, Filmmaker
Ricky D’Ambrose, Filmmaker
Ross Meckfessel, Filmmaker
Ryan Ferko, Filmmaker
Sarah Friedland, Filmmaker
Sky Hopinka, Filmmaker
salome oggenfuss
Suneil Sanzgiri, Filmmaker
Tiffany Sia, Artist and filmmaker
Verena Paravel
Yoni Golijov, Producer
Zazie Ray-Trapido, Filmmaker
Zia Anger, Filmmaker, My Last Film
Genevieve Yue, Critic, Screener for Currents 2023
Jordi Wijnalda , FLC Artist Academy Alumnus and Former Staff Member
Henry Camacho, Cinema Employee, Film at Lincoln Center
Sierra Pettengill, Filmmaker, FLC Artist Academy 2018
Mackenzie Lukenbill, NYFF Critics Academy 2013
Conor Williams, Critic, Screener for Currents 2023
Sanoja Bhaumik, FLC Critics Academy 2023
Jawni Han, FLC Critics Academy 2023
Katie Kirkland, FLC Critics Academy 2023
Matene Toure, FLC Critics Academy 2023
Jasmine Liu, FLC Critics Academy 2023
Natalie Jasmine Harris, Filmmaker, FLC Artists Academy 2023
Moeko Fujii, FLC Critics Academy 2019
Peter Kim George, FLC Critics Academy 2019
A.G. Sims, Critic, FLC Critics Academy 2019
Film workers in solidarity:
Lizzie Borden, Filmmaker
Mark Cousins, Director
Felix Biederman
Pooja Rangan, Film scholar
Anna Shechtman, Critic
Edo Choi, Programmer
Emily Rose Apter, Film programmer, Maysles Documentary Center
Phil Coldiron, Critic
Abyn Blue Atticus Reabe, Filmmaker
Mitch F. Anderson, Filmmaker
Ekrem Serdar, Curator, Squeaky Wheel
Carlos Valladares, Writer, critic, Gagosian Quarterly, Yale University, Art in America
Cassie da Costa, Critic
Liam Kenny, Cinema Worker at BAM Rose Cinemas and Film Critic
Max G. Mooney, Editor
Jon Dieringer, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Screen Slate
Nicolas Pedrero-Setzer, Managing Editor, Screen Slate
Caroline Golum, Filmmaker, Writer
Grace Byron, Critic
Minh Nguyen, Writer, Critic
Saffron Maeve , Critic, Curator
Mark Asch, Critic, Screen Slate (NYFF 2023) and elsewhere
Nick Kouhi, Critic
Farran Smith Nehme, Critic
Stephanie Monohan, Critic
Elissa Suh, Critic
Lauren Lee, Writer
Hanna Edizel, Editor
Isabel Custodio, Critic
Murtada Elfadl, Curator, Critic
Hannah Gross, Actor
Edward Frumkin, Critic
Jasmine Abbasov, NEON
EJ Unterseher, MUBI
Robert Schneider, Artist, Curator
Ryan Swen, Critic
A.E. Hunt, Critic
Jeff Reichert
Rebecca Celli
Keisha Nicole Knight, Co-founder, Sentient.Art.Film
Andrew Truong, Press, Critic, Buttered Popcorn
Christina Zachariades, Press, Docs in Orbit
Nico Meyer, A24
Siddhant Adlakha, Film Critic, Freelance
Kyle Turner, Critic
Ren Jender, Filmmaker, critic, Freelancer for NY Times, NPR, Slate
Clara Cuccaro, Critic
Olivia Crough, Critic, Screen Slate
Adesola Thomas, Filmmaker, Critic, Letterboxd
Clémence Polès, Press, founder of passerby magazine
Marya E. Gates, press
Isaac Feldberg, Critic, RogerEbert.com
Adam Baran, Filmmaker, Curator, Narrow Rooms
Caroline Conrad, Filmmaker
Alex Mallis, Filmmaker
Natalia Keogan, Critic
Yasmina Tawil, Film Programmer, Arab Film and Media Institute
Oona Mosna, Producer, Media City Film Festival
Matt Haller, Filmmaker and Curator
Alex Kong, Critic
Dan Schindel, Critic, Editor
Graham L. Carter, Filmmaker, Distributor, Several Futures
Godfrey Cheshire, National Society of Film Critics
Rahul Roy, Distributor, Magnolia Pictures
Jourdain Searles, Critic
Charles de Agustin, Filmmaker
John Flynn, Producer, Skye Films
Alexandra Cuesta
Herbert Gambill, critic, mysterycatalog.com
Brandon Tonner-Connolly, Production Designer
AJ Morris, Critic
Mila Matveeva, Producer, Critic
Steve Macfarlane, Department Assistant, MoMA Film
Gavin Briscoe, Distributor
Iva Radivojević, Filmmaker
Lev Kalman, Filmmaker
Violet Lucca, Critic
Matt Prigge, Critic
Finn Jubak, Critic
Brad Hanford, Critic
Meena Nanji, Filmmaker
Charlene Raven Moore, Filmmaker
Meryl Jones Williams, Filmmaker
Ruth Somalo, Programmer, DOC NYC, ADFF, DocumentaMadrid
Faridah Gbadamosi
Zelda Adams, Filmmaker
Keith Uhlich, Critic/Writer
James Presson, Filmmaker
Kerensa Cadenas, Editor, writer, Freelance
Smaranda Sîrca
Ian Wang, Critic
Emily Kretzer, Filmmaker
Christopher Bourne, Critic
Scott Miller Berry, Filmmaker, Film programmer
Alexis Kyle Mitchell, Filmmaker
Ryan Coleman, Critic
Jim McKay, Filmmaker
Angelo Madsen, Filmmaker
Lori Felker, Filmmaker
Haya Alghanim, Filmmaker
