Grierson Trust is urgently investigating reports of anti-Semitic racism at the British awards ceremony

The Grierson Trust is “urgently” investigating reports of an anti-Semitic incident at last week’s documentary awards ceremony in London.

“We are shocked to receive multiple reports of anti-Jewish racism from one person at the reception after the Grierson Awards on Thursday night,” the trust, which organizes the annual British Documentary Awards, said.

“We are urgently investigating these reports to decide on the next steps as soon as possible.”

“The Grierson Trust would like to make it clear to our Jewish colleagues in the media and creative arts that we stand with them in condemning anti-Semitism and of course in eradicating it from our sector and beyond. We are deeply concerned about the increase in all forms of divisive and hateful behaviour. We are deeply committed to an inclusive, diverse industry and environment for all and will not tolerate racism of any kind.”

One person is believed to have confronted up to three participants after discovering they were Jewish. The first visitor approached refused to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian situation, leading the person to seek additional Jewish visitors.

The awards were presented last Thursday (November 9). At the gala event at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on London’s Southbank, the BBC took home the most awards with six and Netflix won two. Channel 4, Disney+, Sky Documentaries/HBO Documentary Films and Apple TV+ each won an award. Once upon a time in Northern Ireland from KEO Films and Walk on Air Films won two awards for Best Documentary Series and Best Historical Documentary.

The conflict between Israel and Hamas, now in its sixth week, continues to divide the film and television world. We reported today that American-Israeli filmmaker Aleeza Chanowitz has been invited to the Stockholm Film Festival to discuss her series Chanshi was withdrawn.

Although Chanowitz said the festival later apologized and told her the issue was due to a misunderstanding. She said she “didn’t feel very welcome anymore” and no longer planned to attend the event, which featured content from her series for Israeli broadcaster Hot.

In the last hour, the Stockholm Film Festival denied that Chanowitz was not invited and that the situation was a “significant misunderstanding.”

Elsewhere, the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam has found itself at the center of conflict in recent days after a pro-Palestinian demonstration on its opening night drew criticism from Israeli experts. Artistic director Orwa Nyrabia was subsequently criticized by pro-Palestinian experts for his reaction. The Palestine Film Institute led a demonstration today calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

The conflict erupted on October 7 when Hamas-backed militants crossed the Gaza-Israel border, killing approximately 1,200 people (a figure the Israeli government recently revised downwards from the original 1,400) and men, women and killed children who had been taken hostage. Israel responded with a massive airstrike on Hamas that leveled large parts of the Gaza Strip. Ground troops followed. According to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza, the bombings have killed more than 11,000 people, including many civilians.

Many are calling for a ceasefire to reduce civilian deaths, but the Israeli government claims Hamas uses people as human shields in combat.