“Stop The Genocide”: Kneecap share artist-led short film in solidarity with Palestine

“Stop The Genocide”: Kneecap share artist-led short film in solidarity with Palestine

Kneecap have thrown their weight behind a new short film released in solidarity with Gaza.

See it. Say it. Censored is described as an “artist-led alternative PSA presented by Kneecap that demands urgent action to stop the genocide unfolding in Gaza”.

The documentary was written and directed by Aaron Z. Willson, Saman Aminzadeh and William Child. The Irish language hip-hop group are listed as executive producers.

The three-minute film is narrated by the band with testimonials from doctors and aid workers including Ghassan Ghaben, Dr. James Smith, Malak Mattar, and Dr. Rossel Morhij, who share their first-hand experiences of being on the ground in Gaza amid Israel’s ongoing assault, which has killed at least 58,000 Palestinians. 

The documentary also features contributions and footage from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, The Lancet Journal, and Unicef.

“Created by a coalition of artists and powered by the testimony of medics and activists, the film builds on reports from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and UN agencies, to lay out the facts and call for vital action: STOP THE GENOCIDE”

A website for the short film provides additional information relating to its demands, which are: “Arms Embargo Now; Boycott, Divest, Sanctions; Support Palestinian Liberation.”

Kneecap are due to perform at Glastonbury this weekend, a booking that has been a source of controversy due to a terror charge being brought against member Mo Chara, who is alleged to have displayed a flag for the proscribed Lebanese political party and paramilitary group Hezbollah at a London gig last year. The charge been described by the group as a “carnival of distraction” that is happening in direct response to their vocal support of Palestine. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said their performance at Glastonbury is “inappropriate”, while Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch insisted they should be banned. Yvette Cooper has said she is working on plans to make it a criminal offence to belong to or support Palestine Action. 

In response to the charge, Kneecap and supporters including Massive Attack have repeated the phrase: “Kneecap are not the story. Genocide is the story.”

The BBC is yet to confirm whether or not they will broadcast Kneecap’s performance at West Holts Stage on Saturday.

However, founder Michael Eavis has insisted they are welcome at the festival and told the Glastonbury Free Press, the festival’s newspaper, that if “people that don’t agree with the politics of the event can go somewhere else.”

Eavis’ daughter, Emily, who now runs the festival, told BBC Breakfast, “There have been a lot of really heated topics this year, but we remain a platform for many, many artists from all over the world and, you know, everyone is welcome here.”

Last year, Kneecap won a discrimination case against the UK government after arts council funding was withdrawn.

Kneecap are slated to play a headline show at Wembley Arena on 18th September, their biggest show outside of Ireland to date.

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