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A coalition of nearly 400 individuals and organisations has called for the immediate cancellation of the Israeli Film Festival set to open at Silverbird Cinema, Accra Mall, from Tuesday, September 16 to 20, 2025.
The coalition — comprising public figures, academics, artists, activists, trade unions, student networks, feminist groups, and faith-based organisations — argues that the event seeks to “whitewash genocide and apartheid” at a time when Palestinians in Gaza face a deepening humanitarian catastrophe.
In a strongly worded statement, the group urged Silverbird Cinema to withdraw from hosting the festival and demanded that sponsors, including Kempinski Hotel, SAF STLAmandi Foundation, Rolider, Sienna Services, AEON, and the University of Media, Arts and Communications (UniMac), immediately pull their support.
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“We cannot stand by while the genocide of Palestinians is laundered through art and culture. Ghana has always stood on the side of the oppressed – today we must stand with Palestine,” the coalition declared.
The campaigners warned that hosting the festival would make Ghanaian institutions complicit in “Israel’s crimes against humanity”, stressing that Ghana’s historic solidarity with liberation struggles is at stake.
The group further described the festival as an act of “breathtaking hypocrisy”, pointing out that Silverbird had only recently screened Comrade Tambo’s London Recruits, an anti-apartheid film, on September 7, only to now host what they termed “the culture of today’s worst apartheid state”.
Among the prominent signatories are veteran journalist Kwesi Pratt Jnr, former CHRAJ Commissioner Justice Emile Short, filmmaker Nii Kwate Owoo, academics Prof. Akosua Adomako Ampofo, Prof. Audrey Gadzekpo, and Prof. Takyiwaa Manuh, as well as activist Oliver Barker-Vormawor and Economic Fighters’ League leader Ernesto Yeboah.
The coalition announced three core actions to resist the festival:
- Boycotts of all sponsors and partners who continue to support the event.
- Peaceful pickets at Silverbird Cinema throughout the festival dates.
- Amplification of solidarity messages with Palestine across traditional and social media.
It also singled out UniMac for sharp criticism, describing its involvement as a “disgraceful abuse of public trust”. The coalition urged Vice Chancellor Prof. Eric Opoku-Mensah to reverse the decision, noting the ongoing destruction of schools and cultural institutions in Gaza.
“UniMac is a state university funded by the Ghanaian people. Its support for this festival is a terrible abuse of public trust,” the statement stressed.
The coalition closed with a blunt warning:
“Cancel this festival. Withdraw your sponsorship. The people are watching. History will judge.”
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