What do a publisher in Arkansas, an attorney in Arizona, and a speech therapist in Texas have in common? They’re being punished under anti-boycott legislation that has now been passed in 33 states. Julia Bacha’s eye-opening film follows the disturbing trend by state legislatures across the U.S. to pass laws that aim to silence those who support the BDS movement (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) — which protests Israel’s denial of Palestinians’ basic rights — as well as those who simply refuse to oppose the boycott. By prohibiting companies or individuals from receiving any kind of government-related funding unless they pledge their opposition to the boycott, this new kind of loyalty oath threatens Americans’ First Amendment right to free speech.
As more and more states pass this legislation, courageous people are pushing back, unceasing in their support of freedom of speech. Mikkel Jordahl, an attorney in Arizona; Bahia Amawi, a childhood speech therapist in Texas; and Alan Leveritt, the publisher of the Arkansas Times, all discover that they can lose jobs or advertising revenue unless they go along with these coercive new state laws. In addition to following these stories, Bacha uncovers the hidden network behind these bills and comes across some surprising and disturbing alliances.
Director Biography
Julia Bacha is a Peabody award-winning filmmaker and the Creative Director at Just Vision. She started her filmmaking career in Cairo, where she wrote and edited Control Room (Sundance 2004), for which she was nominated for the Writer’s Guild of America Award. Subsequently, she directed Encounter Point (Tribeca 2006), Budrus (Berlinale 2009), My Neighbourhood (Tribeca 2012) and Naila and the Uprising (IDFA 2017).