As a cultural organisation in Scotland, Document Film Festival pledges to support the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI). 

PACBI was initiated in 2004 to contribute to the struggle for Palestinian freedom, justice and equality. It advocates for a boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions for their deep and persistent complicity in Israel’s denial of Palestinian rights that are stipulated in international law. PACBI is a founding member of the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), and is tasked with overseeing the academic and cultural boycott aspects of BDS. More: https://bdsmovement.net/pacbi

Since its foundation in 2003, Document as an organisation and festival has been dedicated to platforming film as an advocacy tool to raise the profile and promote debate of human rights across the globe. We continue to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and their struggle for liberation. We continue to call for an end to the violence perpetrated by the Israeli state through military occupation, ethnic cleansing, deliberate systemic violence through a brutal apartheid system, and now the ongoing genocide in Gaza, and call on the UK government to end British arms sales to Israel and to impose economic sanctions, as a means to immediately cease the genocide and end occupation of Palestine.

We recognise the platform that Document has within the cultural space in Scotland and beyond, so believe it is important to continue to use it and urge our fellow arts/cultural workers and organisations – especially those who are currently active in Scotland – to join us in publicly pledging to commit to PACBI. 

For more information about the cultural and academic boycott of Israeli institutions, to add your voice to the campaign and show solidarity with Palestine and your colleagues in the sector, to register your organisation’s endorsement of PACBI, and/or to find out more about pledging your public support on social media, please refer to the resources compiled by our colleagues at Art Workers For Palestine Scotland here: https://linktr.ee/artworkersforpalestine

You can also still contact the Document Film Festival Colleagues to hear more about our endorsement of PACBI, future plans or anything else, at documentfilmfestival@gmail.com

[Image alt text: The image features a hand-drawn illustration in colored pencil with floral elements and text. At the top, a purple tulip and a pink poppy bloom are connected by a vine. Written in capital green letters, the text states, “AS A CULTURAL ORGANISATION IN SCOTLAND WE PLEDGE TO SUPPORT.” The central focus is the word “PACBI,” rendered in bold red letters intertwined with green floral patterns. Below this, the text in green continues, “THE PALESTINIAN CAMPAIGN FOR THE ACADEMIC AND CULTURAL BOYCOTT OF ISRAEL.” The bottom of the image showcases a detailed pink flower on the left and a red tulip-like flower bending towards the bottom right. The artwork carries an artisanal touch and communicates a pledge to support a specific political and social initiative.]

Statement originally published on 19/10/23.

Document Film Festival stands in solidarity with the Palestinian people and their struggle for liberation. We join the mobilisation of human rights and film organisations across the globe calling for an end to the violence perpetrated by the Israeli state through military occupation, ethnic cleansing, deliberate systemic violence through a brutal apartheid system, and now the genocide unfolding in Gaza.

As an organisation and festival dedicated to platforming film as an advocacy tool to raise the profile and promote debate of human rights across the globe, we understand the importance the role art and artists play in bearing witness to truth. Particularly now when we are seeing the UK media complicit in spreading disinformation, and the dehumanising rhetoric being used against Palestinians.

We are grateful to our colleagues at Mosaic Rooms, for compiling a list of resources and collective actions, and we add our voice to their urgent call for cultural organisations, artists, and writers in the UK and abroad to break the silence and speak up for the justice and dignity of Palestine. https://mosaicrooms.org/call-to-cultural-organisations-artists-writers-for-solidarity-with-palestine

[Image: ‘letter to a friend’, Emily Jacir, 2019. Screened at Document Film Festival 2021]