More acts drop out of Latitude 2024 of Barclays sponsorship: “We can make a difference – festivals can make meaningful change”

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Making further inroads into markets in Central and Eastern Europe and beyond, Studiocanal, one of Europe’s top production-distribution-international sales powerhouses, has clinched further sales on premium daily drama “The Vow” (“La Promesa”), closing Poland and two Baltic States, as well as France. Produced by Spain’s Bambú Producciones (“Velvet,” “Cable Girls”), a Studiocanal company, Studiocanal and national Spanish public broadcaster RTVE, “The Vow” has been acquired by Polish pubcaster TVP Poland, state-backed network ERR Estonia and state-owned LTV Latvia. In additional new sales, Dubai TV has closed rights to MENA territories.

Lexi Carson Jerry Seinfeld shut down another group of pro-Palestine hecklers at his stand-up show in Australia, which was only the most recent occurrence in his chain of disruptions during the comedian’s tour. On Saturday night, Seinfeld was performing to thousands of fans at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena when a group of pro-Palestine protesters began shouting, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” toward the end of his set. “Oh, you’re back.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Flow,” a director-driven animated feature which world premiered at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard and just swept three awards at Annecy Film Festival, has been embraced by a raft of major distributors in key territories, including the U.K., Japan, South Korea, Germany, Spain and Italy. The movie is represented internationally by Charades.

Surrendering to pressure from several music acts and an ad-hoc movement, Barclays has suspended its sponsorship of all 2024 music festivals organized by Live Nation in the UK.

Gordon Cox Theater Editor Live theater always reflects the moment in which it’s presented, but this season, Broadway charged head-on into the politics of today with unusual force: A play that directly addressed antisemitism, Israel and Gaza opened barely two months after the events of Oct. 7; climate protestors interrupted a 140-year-old drama about the threat of environmental calamity, and an onstage chronicle of Vladimir Putin’s rise to power opened even as the Russian invasion of Ukraine rolled into its third year.

Barclays on Friday suspended its sponsorship of all Live Nation music festivals in 2024 after various acts dropped out in protest over the bank’s links to defense companies that work with Israel.The suspension includes upcoming Live Nation festivals across the UK this summer, including Latitude, Download and the Isle of Wight.“The protesters’ agenda is to have Barclays debank defense companies which is a sector we remain committed to as an essential part of keeping this country and our allies safe,” the bank’s spokesperson told Reuters.The suspension comes after several artists, including country singer CMAT, metal band Ithaca and comedian Joanne McNally, pulled out of the events.Last month, Barclay’s annual shareholders’ meeting was disrupted by activists protesting against its alleged indirect links to violence in Gaza.

Enter Shikari have spoken out after Barclays Bank withdrew from sponsoring Download, Latitude and Isle Of Wight festivals following an artist boycott.A number of bands had dropped out of the Donington Park festival in protest at their commercial partnership with Barclays, including Pest Control, Scowl, Speed and Zulu.Pest Control wrote that they “would not take part in an event whose sponsor profits from facilitating a genocide”, while Scowl added they were boycotting due to “Barclays Bank sponsorship of the event and Barclays’ connection to Israel and the genocide Israel is committing in Palestine.”And now, it appears that Barclays have withdrawn their sponsorship of Download, Latitude and Isle of Wight Festivals, with the bank no longer being listed on their official websites.In a response shared with NME, Latitude confirmed the news, saying: “Following discussion with artists, we have agreed with Barclays that they will step back from sponsorship of Latitude Festival.”NME have also contacted Download Festival for comment.Enter Shikari, who are set to play the main stage at Download this weekend, have responded to the news with a lengthy social media post, which read: “There has been mounting pressure for bands to drop out of Download festival due to the involvement of Barclays Bank.”A post shared by enter: shikari (@entershikari)“We have been in talks with Download themselves, expressing our serious objection at Barclays involvement. We have considered all options, and along with other artists have been working tirelessly on this.”“We don’t believe in rushed reactions and always want the best outcome for all involved.

Lankum have said they have signed a letter asking Latitude to drop Barclays as a sponsor amid the current boycott of the bank over its ties to companies who are supplying weapons and military technology to Israel.Numerous acts have already pulled out of the Henham Park festival over its sponsorship by Barclays, including CMAT, Pillow Queens, Mui Zyu and Georgia Ruth. Comedians Joanne McNally and Alexandra Haddow have also dropped out.Now, Lankum have lent their voices to the conversation by revealing that they have signed a letter to Latitude over the issue, suggesting that the festival itself will be subject to acts taking a collective stand.“In relation to the Barclays sponsorship of Latitude Festival, we have signed a letter asking the festival to drop the bank due to their links with weapons firms involved in the genocide in Palestine,” they wrote in a statement.“We have also been working behind the scenes with a number of the acts scheduled to play at the festival as we firmly believe that collective action is the most effective action.“Hopefully we will have more news on this soon.”“Love and solidarity, Cormac, Daragh, Ian and Radie.”In relation to the Barclays sponsorship of Latitude Festival, we have signed a letter asking the festival to drop the bank due to their links with weapons firms involved in the genocide in Palestine.We have also been working behind the scenes with a number of the acts… pic.twitter.com/DIGdmhDxIp— LANKUM (@LankumDublin) June 12, 2024The announcement of artists pulling out of Latitude comes shortly after the major boycott of The Great Escape in Brighton last month, also due to its ties with Barclays.

Selome Hailu After a fourth-month, worldwide search, the Amazon Prime Video drama “House of David” has found its cast of biblical figures. Michael Iskander will lead the series as David. The Egyptian American actor is best known for originating the role of Aaron in “Kimberly Akimbo,” which in 2023 won the Tony Award for Best Musical.

Latitude 2024 due to the festival’s sponsorship with Barclays and its ties to Israel.They are the two leading names when it comes to the comedians who are boycotting this year’s edition of the event, and follow numerous musical acts who are refusing to perform while it is still sponsored by the bank.Joanne McNally announced her withdrawal from the festival last week, when she shared an update online. She was set to close the comedy tent at Latitude 2024, which will be held at Henham Park in Suffolk between July 25 and 28.“I’m getting messages today about me performing at Latitude when it’s being sponsored by Barclays,” she began on Instagram (via Goss.ie).

Scowl, Speed and Zulu have become the latest bands to pull out of Download 2024 over its partnership with Barclays and the bank’s ties to Israel.The news follows a similar move from Leeds hardcore band Pest Control who announced they would be pulling out earlier today (June 10), saying that they would not “take part in an event whose sponsor profits from facilitating a genocide.”In a statement posted to their social media, Scowl wrote: “We will not be playing Download fest this year due to Barclays Bank sponsorship of the event and Barclays’ connection to Israel and the genocide Israel is committing in Palestine.“Free Palestine!”They directed fans to the Bands Boycott Barclays campaign for more information and thanked Pest Control “for bringing this to our attention”.Meanwhile, Speed wrote on their social media accounts: “SPEED will no longer be playing Download Festival this Friday June 14 due to the recent news of Barclays Banks sponsorship of the event and their involvement in the war in Gaza.”Zulu announced they would be dropping out shortly after. In their statement, they said: “We will not be playing Download Festival as we just got word about Barclays Bank and their sponsorship of the fest.

Pest Control have pulled out of Download 2024 over its sponsorship with Barclays and the bank’s ties to Israel.The band took to their official Instagram to share a statement explaining why they would be boycotting the annual festival in Donnington. “We have made the decision to pull out of our upcoming shows at Download festival this week (Wednesday 12th June and Sunday 16th June),” began their statement.They explained that they are taking part in the boycott against Barclays bank who are sponsoring the music festival.

Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI).The campaign has called for the boycott amidst the ongoing developments in the Israel-Palestine conflict, which recently saw Israel carry out an airstrike operation in Rafah. The airstrike was estimated to have killed at least 37 people between May 27-28, according to The Associated Press.They also reported the attack caused several tents to catch fire, killing more residents in Rafah, which is home to thousands of displaced Palestinians from all over the Gaza Strip.Now, music organisations, labels and promoters such as Dark Entries, Techno Queers, Dweller, Noise Not Music, Night Slugs, 8-ball community, Gold Bolus Recordings, NYC Noise, FIST and many more have committed themselves to the boycott.PACBI is an offshoot of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS), which was behind the huge wave of drop-outs from The Great Escape and Latitude Festival this year.

It’s a big weekend for critically acclaimed indies in limited release as well as a handful of moderate openings, including Richard Gere’s latest film Longing. The provenance of that is unusual as the film from Lionsgate/Grindstone is a Canada-set remake of a 2017 Israeli drama. The original was quite well received, but the film opening this weekend has been thoroughly skewered by critics.

A Greater Manchester Barclays branch has been taped off by police after its windows have been smashed and walls daubed with red paint.

Four people were arrested in a late night raid after city centre buildings were smashed and covered in red paint. Two Barclays branches, on Market Street and Mosley Street, and the BNY Mellon office at Piccadilly Gardens were targeted early on Friday morning (May 31).

CMAT has announced that she has pulled out of Latitude 2024 over the festival’s sponsorship with Barclays and its ties to Israel.The Irish singer-songwriter took to her official Instagram account to share a statement explaining why she had decided to not perform at the Suffolk Music Festival. She used a photo of her attending the festival back in 2021 as the background photo of her post.She began her statement by pointing out how Barclays is the festival’s main sponsor, and discussing its connections to ongoing war in Gaza.“You may or may not be aware, but Latitude’s main sponsor is Barclays bank, who have been revealed to I have increased their financing of various companies who are supplying weapons and military technology to Israel.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Palestinian-Canadian rapper Belly has surprise-dropped a new album titled “96 Miles From Bethlehem,” which is described as being about “the gift, curse, and fate of being Palestinian” but is clearly inspired by the war in Gaza. The 40-year-old artist, whose real name is Ahmad Balshe, was born in the Palestinian city of Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank — which is located 96 miles from Bethlehem, as the album’s title says — but relocated to Canada with his family when he was 7.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Vanity Fair France apologized for a photo in which a Palestine pin that Guy Pearce was wearing on his suit was edited out (via CNN). Pearce attended this year’s Cannes Film Festival in support of David Cronenberg’s competition entry “The Shrouds,” in which he stars opposite Vincent Cassel and Diane Kruger.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Rolling off the Cannes Film Festival where it won several awards, Mohammad Rasoulof‘s “The Seed of The Sacred Fig” has been acquired by a flurry of high profile distributors in major international territories. Films Boutique, which represents the critically acclaimed political drama globally, has sold it to Lionsgate for the U.K.