LONDON: More than 1,500 film industry professionals — including actors Olivia Colman and Mark Ruffalo — have signed an open letter calling for a boycott of Israeli cinema bodies, stating they are “implicated in genocide” in Gaza.

The letter, published Monday and organized by the group Film Workers for Palestine, pledges to avoid participating in or supporting Israeli film festivals, cinemas, broadcasters, and production companies that are connected to what the letter describes as “genocide and apartheid” against Palestinians.

Notable signatories include British stars Aimee Lou Wood, Josh O’Connor, Tilda Swinton, and American actors Ayo Edebiri and Cynthia Nixon, as well as filmmakers Ken Loach and Yorgos Lanthimos.

“In this urgent moment, where many of our governments are enabling the carnage in Gaza, we must do everything we can to address complicity in that unrelenting horror,” the letter states.

The letter cites events such as the Jerusalem Film Festival and the Docaviv documentary film festival, accusing them of continuing to partner with the Israeli government. It emphasizes that the boycott is aimed at institutions, not individuals, and targets those that “refuse to acknowledge institutional complicity.”

The move is part of a broader wave of cultural and artistic protest against Israel’s military operations in Gaza, which the Hamas-run health ministry reports has killed over 45,000 people, mostly women and children.