The Sea, Boycotts, and the Power of Israeli Cinema to Challenge From Within
A growing call to boycott Israeli film, signed by over 4,500 industry professionals, is colliding with a vibrant cinematic landscape that often grapples with the very political issues fueling the boycott. The debate is sharply illustrated by the success of The Sea, a new Israeli film that won the Ophir Award – israel’s equivalent of an Oscar – for best picture and is now the country’s submission for the best international feature film at the Academy Awards.
Muhammad Gazawi, walking through Tel Aviv’s central bus station, attempting to blend in while quietly asking passersby, “Do you speak Arabic?”
The film’s nuanced portrayal of the occupation and it’s impact on Palestinian lives is precisely what makes the current boycott debate so complex. The boycott declaration, committed to by its signatories, states thay will “not to screen films, appear at or otherwise work with Israeli film institutions” deemed “implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people.” A supporting document specifies that this includes Israeli film festivals partnering with the Israeli government and production companies operating within the country’s “system of apartheid.”
However, The Sea blurs the lines of a simple “Israeli” versus “Palestinian” categorization. While it received funding from the Israel film Fund – a nonprofit supported by the state’s Ministry of Culture and Sport – scenes were filmed in both the West Bank and Israel. Furthermore, the film’s director, Shai Carmeli Pollak, and lead actor, Gazawi, have both publicly denounced the war in Gaza. This raises the question: will The Sea be considered a legitimate target for the boycott, or will its content and the perspectives of its creators afford it a loophole?
The core flaw in the boycott effort, as many observers note, is its potential to stifle a vital source of internal dissent within Israel. Israeli cinema, while reliant on partial state funding, has a history of tackling difficult and critical subjects, including militarism and the occupation. Since 1999, a law has mandated state funding for the industry, with four-fifths of the money allocated to film projects and the remainder supporting organizations like the film academy and festivals. Crucially, funding decisions are made by self-reliant foundations and cinema professionals, not politicians.
This system has fostered a flourishing film industry that, despite its relatively small market size – Israel has a population of 10 million – consistently produces thought-provoking work. This year’s output includes Oxygen, a film exploring the moral dilemma of an Israeli mother grappling with her son’s continued military service during the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The film draws a parallel to the biblical story of Abraham and Isaac, a recurring motif in Israeli art, and features footage of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declaring “absolute victory.” As one character poignantly observes, “You think I’m insane?” to which another replies, “Truth is, I think you’re the only sane person here.” Oxygen recently won the award for best Israeli feature film at the Jerusalem film Festival, another target of the boycott.
Ironically, while the international community considers cutting off support for israeli cinema, the industry is together facing pressure from within. Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar is enacting new rules for allocating state film funding, prioritizing commercially successful projects over those that address challenging social or political issues. Following The Sea’s Ophir win,Zohar announced he would cut off state funding for the awards ceremony,a move widely seen as intimidation.
This creates a paradoxical situation: the government seeks to silence filmmakers who ask difficult questions, while the boycott campaign aims to isolate them from international audiences and resources. As history demonstrates, changing hearts and minds requires engagement, not isolation.The story of a Palestinian child lost in an Israeli city, or a soldier’s mother slowly descending into despair, will likely have a far greater impact than any boycott. Instead of shunning Israeli filmmakers, the international community should be working with them, co-producing with them, and ensuring the survival of an industry that has the potential to foster critical self-reflection within Israel.
