At the Oscar International Film Awards ceremony, Javier Bardem got off to a great start on stage by saying, “No to war, we will liberate Palestine,” and at the ceremony on March 15th, the audience erupted in loud applause.
Bardem also wore an “No War” pin and a pro-Palestinian pin on the lapel of his tuxedo.
This moment comes in the wake of the recent U.S. military attack on Iran and the public backlash against America’s prolonged intervention in the Middle East.
On the red carpet at this season’s Emmy Awards, Bardem spoke to Variety about his passion for the subject.
“I am here today to condemn the genocide in Gaza,” he said. “I’m talking about the International Association of Genocide Scholars, the IAGS, which has studied the genocide thoroughly and declared it a genocide. That’s why we are calling for a commercial and diplomatic blockade and sanctions against Israel to stop the genocide. Free Palestine.”
In February, Bardem was one of more than 100 celebrities who signed an open letter criticizing the Berlin Film Festival for its “silence” on the Gaza Strip.
“We, as members of the film industry, and all Berlin participants past and present, expect industry institutions to refuse to be complicit in the horrific violence that continues to be perpetrated against Palestinians,” the letter said. “We deplore the Berlinale’s involvement in the censorship of artists who oppose Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and the German state’s key role in enabling this. As the Palestinian Film Association has stated, the festival is ‘policing filmmakers in tandem with continued efforts in investigative cooperation with the federal police.'”
