Glasgow Film Festival 2025 launched Wednesday, February 26 at the Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT) with the premiere of Tornado, but as the red carpet event unfolded, spectators launched into protest.
Sporting Palestinian flags and displaying a banner which reads “Glasgow film boycott Israel” in the style of GFT’s logo, the protestors made a statement which was hard to ignore.
As SNP minister Angus Robertson crossed the red carpet, he was met with heckles from one particular protestor who repeated the phrase “shame on you”. This comes after he was exposed for meeting with the Israeli ambassador privately last year.
Fighting For a Cause
Brig spoke to a representative of Artworkers For Palestine Scotland after the event who told us about their aims in the protest. The representative told us about the group’s open letter to GFT which has been signed by countless individual, including Jeremy Corbyn and director Ken Loach.
The open letter urges GFT to participate in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement by removing Barclays adverts before its screenings and Coca Cola products from its bars. Unionised workers at GFT have expressed their support for the open letter and will reportedly be refusing to handle Coca Cola products at its bars.
Artworkers for Palestine Scotland hope that GFT will join 150 other cultural Scottish organisation and join the cultural boycott of Israel. The group have not yet had any response from GFT and are “prepared to escalate” if they do not adhere to the demands.
A representative from Artworkers for Palestine Scotland said: “Given that the GFT likes to pride itself on its progressive image and its progressive politics, it’s time to put its money where its mouth is”
You can find out more about Artworkers for Palestine Scotland through their Instagram Account, with the link to the open letter in their bio.
feature image credit: Rae Archibald.
[…] their screenings, are under review. This comes as the letter has recieved 1,300 signatures and protests at the Glasgow Film Festival, which is held at the […]