A coalition of nearly 400 organizations and prominent individuals in Ghana launched a campaign to cancel the “Israeli Film Festival,” scheduled from September 16-20, 2025, at Silverbird Cinema at the Accra Mall. The campaign, which included a public letter, called on Silverbird to withdraw from hosting the event and for all sponsors to pull out immediately.
The organizers of the “Cancel Israeli Film Festival” campaign described the event as “Zionist propaganda” and an attempt to “whitewash genocide and apartheid” in the context of the ongoing Israeli genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. “It is breathtaking hypocrisy that Silverbird, having just screened the anti-apartheid film “Comrade Tambo’s London Recruits” on 7 September, now seeks to celebrate the “culture” of today’s worst apartheid state,” read the statement. The organizers said that providing a platform for Israeli cultural expression equals “complicity in crimes against humanity.”
With Palestinian flags flying high, the coalition peacefully picketed at the Silverbird Cinema during the festival dates to urge public support for the boycott. The campaign called on all sponsors, including SAF STL, Amandi Foundation, Rolider, Sienna Services, EON, and the University of Media, Arts and Communications (UniMac), to withdraw their support. The involvement of UniMac, a publicly-funded institution, was singled out as particularly “disgraceful.” Campaigners warned that if the festival proceeds, they will initiate a boycott of all companies and institutions involved.
Member of the Socialist Movement of Ghana, Victoria Wilson, who was at the picket, said, “We are against the genocide that Israel is committing. We are going to be picketing here throughout the film festival with a message that says Palestine must be free. Until the genocide stops, we are going to champion the cause of the freedom of the Palestinian people.”
“The reason I am here today is because I am human and I believe in humanity. I do not believe in genocide against any people. I don’t believe in occupying land. I don’t believe in settlers going in on stolen land and ethnically cleansing people,” said Susie Rundle, another protestor against the Israeli Film Festival.
The campaign also highlighted Ghana’s historical anti-imperialist stance and record of solidarity with liberation movements, arguing that the festival is an insult to the country’s values. This campaign aligns itself with a growing global movement of outrage over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. It is supported by a wide range of leading Ghanaian public figures, artists, academics, journalists, activists, students and organizations.
List of endorsing individuals:
Kwesi Pratt Jnr. – Veteran journalist and Social Justice commentatorEmile Short – Former Commissioner, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ)Nii Kwate Owoo – Celebrated Ghanaian filmmakerAudrey Gadzekpo – Renowned academic and public intellectualDzodzi Tsikata – Distinguished scholar and activistYao Graham – Coordinator, Third World Network-AfricaKwame Karikari – Media freedom advocate, Wisconsin International University CollegeOliver Barker-Vormawor – Democracy Hub leaderHardi Yakubu – Youth Leader and Coordinator, Africans Rising MovementAkyaaba Addai-Sebo – Pan-Africanist and human rights campaignerBright Ackwerh – Leading visual artistChris Atim – historic Ghanaian student leader and respected Health EconomistKwame Mfodwo – Public intellectualAkunu Dake – Activist and strategistDr. Sylvia Bawa – Academic and feminist activistProf. Akosua Adomako Ampofo – Scholar and gender advocateKwasi Adu-Amankwah – Trade unionist and civil society leaderProf. Takyiwaa Manuh – Intellectual and celebrated Gender Equality ChampionWanlov Kubolor – Major artiste and music starDede Amanor-Wilks – Campaigning Journalist and Economic Historian
List of Endorsing Groups
Ghanaians Against GenocideJustice and Freedom 4 PalestineLegon Palestine Solidarity ActivistsAll-Africa People’s Revolutionary PartyHumanists Association of GhanaEconomic Fighters LeagueSocialist Students and Workers Solidarity NetworkJamaica Affairs GhanaRastafari CouncilInternational Socialists of GhanaAfrican Institute of Strategic Studies (AISS)Democracy HubAfrica Water Justice NetworkGhana Water Justice PlatformTax Justice Coalition GhanaRightify GhanaSocialist Movement of GhanaPalestine Solidarity CommitteeKubolor FoundationVenceremos Development ConsultHandala ResistePan African Heritage Youth MovementDrama QueensFeminist activists (various)LGBT+ Rights GhanaFemInStyle AfricaAfrican Continental Unity Party (ACUP)Speak Out Now SocialistsBoycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) GhanaRed Vests MovementUbuntu Reading GroupUkombozi LibraryFree Palestine Movement in South AfricaSCONET Pan Afro MediaLaboratory Art Studios (Kumasi)African Youth Improvement FoundationActivista GhanaSocialist Students and Workers Network (University of Ghana)The Socialist Movement of Ghana (SMG)GCA – Ghana Caribbean Association (and many other collectives and foundations as per the full signatures list)
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Kate Janse Van Rensburg is a member of the Pan Africanism Today Secretariat.
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