The uneasy relationship between cultural spaces, states, private funding, and artists has spawned widespread outcry and boycotts this year. That’s a good reason to turn your eyes to Wrocław, Poland, where activists have criticized a festival with a financial giant right in its name. BNP Paribas Nowe Horyzonty, an international film festival that also features musical acts like Kangding Ray, Mo Ayoub, and soft, stands accused of ties to genocide through its lead sponsor.
Amidst widespread boycotts of festivals and Boiler Room over KKR ownership, BNP Paribas seems another likely target for activism. The bank’s ties to funding of occupation and the Israeli military are even arguably more explicit than KKR. And even as the bank tries to drive a wedge between Palestinian and Ukrainian advocates, there are strong indications that this is about Israel and profit, not about European interests.
UN, Belgian NGO reports implicate BNP Paribas
Whatever the discourse between artists, activists, and the festival in Wrocław, the implications here are timely and reach far beyond Poland or film. The United Nations Human Rights Council has just released an advanced edited report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian Territories. That report names private sector profits and accountability in what it describes as “the Israeli economy’s illegal occupation, apartheid, and genocide.”
Segment by segment, the report picks through private sector links to Israel’s occupation and war machine. And the truth is, any of us who have worked in the cultural sector, from curator to DJ, is likely to see some familiar names. If you haven’t personally played a venue with one of these sponsors, you’ve dealt with them as a consumer or attended a concert. (Some were also previously BDS consumer boycott targets.) Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese calls in the report for consequences for those companies and immediate sanctions, echoing calls by groups like Human Rights Watch.
BNP Paribas is an especially egregious example even by the standards of the financial sector. From the report:
BNP Paribas was a top European financier of the weapons industry supplying Israel, providing $410 million in loans to Leonardo, among others, alongside $5.2 billion in loans and underwriting for OHCHR database-listed companies.
Also last month, Belgian NGOs 11.11.11 and Fairifin accused BNP Paribas of failing to uphold international law in its investments in Elbit Systems. Elbit is Israel’s largest arms maker and one of the main suppliers to the Israeli army. Its drone was involved in the deadly strike on World Central Kitchen aid workers.
BNP Paribas accused of trading shares of Israeli defence company [The Brussels Times – EN]
Wrocław activists send open call to action to film festival organizers
In late June, activists in Wrocław chose to speak out about the International Film Festival Nowe Horyzonty, which will run from the 17-27 July. “Right now we’re an informal collective with not only students, but also people opposing genocide who are living in Wrocław,” the group wrote me. “We’re an international group; of course, some of us are Palestinians. We’re in contact with other groups from other cities in Poland, Europe, and the whole world,” they said.
Big financial sponsors are not unusual, but this one has BNP Paribas’ logo as part of its festival logo. The group SolidarnościówkaWro [Wrocław Solidarity Movement], organized around student protests in Palestinian advocacy, made a statement on June 22 with other local partners, arguing:
We do not question the need for partnerships and financial support for cultural institutions. We also understand that contemporary artistic events often operate within a complex ecosystem of funding. But culture that aspires to be a space for reflection and responsibility cannot simultaneously turn a blind eye to the sources of its financing.
The group tells CDM more about their work, including being involved in an encampment at the University of Wrocław that got some positive results:
We’ve finished the protest/strike after 194 days, reaching an agreement with our Rector. Right now, two of the protesting students are a part of a university commission that checks the planned collaborations of our university with institutions from abroad. The existing collaboration was not ended because of the penalties that the university would have to pay in order to drop out of the programme.
“Culture that aspires to be a space for reflection and responsibility cannot simultaneously turn a blind eye to the sources of its financing.”
The group called for three actions from the film festival:
- to present the festival’s ethical guidelines for sponsors,
- to publicly address the documented reports on BNP Paribas, and
- to “conduct a genuine assessment of whether a partnership with a bank investing in the arms industry is compatible with the festival’s stated values.”
Festival response; bank denials
Following the activists’ statement of June 22, Nowe Horyzonty organizers responded with a statement of their own. Original Polish; shortly after publication of this article, they added an English translation, included at bottom.
Oświadczenie w sprawie wątpliwości zw. ze współpracą z partnerem tytularnym
The festival says that they “firmly condemn the genocide committed by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip and all crimes against humanity.”
The statement did not directly address any of the original complaints, however: there was no disclosure of ethical guidelines, and no direct answer to the ties between BNP Paribas and the Israeli defense sector. The festival included a statement from the bank, which claims “BNP Paribas is not involved in this conflict,” and that the bank “applies rigorous rules–often stricter than the law… and scrupulously adheres to the frameworks set by states and international institutions.”
BNP made a similar statement on June 28 in French, responding to separate charges of complicity:
« BNP Paribas n’est en aucune manière impliqué dans les terribles conflits au Moyen-Orient et réfute toute action qui tenterait d’établir un lien entre ses activités et la situation dramatique dans cette région ».
BNP Paribas also tries to pivot from Israel to the more popular topic of the defense of Ukraine:
As a financial institution that closely follows developments in the international arena, we take them into account when making decisions. Therefore, in the context of the growing importance of defense issues on the European agenda and in NATO, we also participate in financing this sector.
However, there are multiple credible reports that contradict the bank’s claims; it would seem a stretch to say the bank isn’t involved in warfare it’s helping fund. BNP Paribas was dragged into a Paris lawsuit for allegedly violating French law with its support for the Israeli occupation and military, including an $8 billion Israeli bond subscription. Incidentally, while this statement suggests they’re making further investments in the sector, the bank reportedly just sold Elbit Systems shares at the start of June, a reminder that the financial industry is aligned with profit, not anyone’s agenda or security. This overlooks the fact that Elbit Systems, despite recent acquisitions in the European industry, is nonetheless an Israeli company that supplies its technology to the IDF, not Ukraine.
The bank had also been targeted in 2021 for ties to Israeli settlements. It was named again in a report on settlement investments in 2024, an activity denounced by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH). (It’s not alone, either; while BNP Paribas was one of the biggest firms on the list, some 800 European banks are implicated.) Amnesty International Norway singled out the role of finance in illegal occupation and called for divestment in May alongside other Norwegian NGOs. (HSBC, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, and Société Générale were also included in divestment calls.) And the bank has been probed for involvement in the genocide in Sudan.
At the very least, this suggests a lack of transparency from the bank in its dealings with the festival organizers.
Calls for a boycott; response from the festival
I contacted the festival for comment. They did not respond to my questions about BNP Paribas’ involvement in the Israeli defense industry, referring me only back to the bank’s statement. And they did not respond to my questions about how the festival sets its ethical guidelines for sponsors. Instead, they told CDM:
It is worth emphasizing that our title partner does not influence the festival program in any way, and we, as New Horizons IFF, have been presenting the voices of various communities excluded or affected by violence for almost 25 years. This will be the case this year as well – the program includes many such films, all will be revealed next Tuesday.
Rather than respond to concerns about BNP Paribas’ involvement in the festival, their response pays a picture of a Polish cultural scene that has become deeply reliant on the bank. From the same festival spokesperson:
BNP Paribas Bank Poland SA has been present on the Polish cultural map for years as one of the biggest patrons. It supports several other large festivals, cultural events, the cinema sector, and equality policy, despite the radicalizing moods in the country.
Nowe Horyzonty announced its festival this week. The organization says they’ll be contacting artists to organize a boycott.
The festival tells CDM that they will include Palestinian films on the program (alongside, oddly enough, a documentary on Kneecap):
We have films made by Palestinians – Happy Holidays by Scandar Copti and Control Anatomy by Mahmoud Alhaj. In addition, the program includes the film To Gaza – a documentary in which Catherine Libert has collected a huge archive of images created by Palestinian civilians, medics, journalists; it is them who she gives a voice to in her film.
The same program also includes a film from an Israeli director, France-based Nadav Lapid, entitled Yes. The festival program frames this as a critical inclusion, and a spokeperson for the festival emphasizes to CDM that “it is a strongly anti-Israeli film, condemning the actions of the Israeli government and the attack on Gaza,” and adding that “Nadav Lapid himself lives in exile and has been consistently criticizing Israel’s actions for many years.”
Organizers tell CDM that they’re proceeding now to contact artists and encourage a boycott of this year’s edition.
Statement from the festival (English)
The festival contacted us shortly after publication to note that they have an English translation of their statement:
Let us begin with something obvious—yet essential—that must be stated clearly at the outset: as organizers of the festival, we firmly condemn the genocide committed by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip and all crimes against humanity. This stance has been woven into the festival’s DNA since its inception. Every year, through cinema, we give voice to those affected by persecution, violence, or suffering. We do more than present films—we organize meetings with filmmakers and discussions that aim to explore these stories with depth, nuance, and empathy. We recognize that this responsibility extends to other aspects of the festival—particularly financing and partnerships. We are aware that in today’s globalized world, complex networks of international interdependence exist. Following these connections often leads to difficult or uncomfortable realities, including those raised by the authors of the aforementioned post. We are also familiar with the phrase, “in a world dominated by capitalism, there is no such thing as ethical consumption.” Indeed, these networks often point toward practices that are morally questionable or ethically reprehensible. We also understand that such generalizations may be perceived as oversimplifications. That’s why we want to speak directly to the specifics of this situation, and why we are now giving the floor to our partner.
BNP Paribas is not involved in this conflict. Like all major financial institutions, our role is to provide clients with access to markets—not to act or make decisions on their behalf.
BNP Paribas applies rigorous standards—often stricter than legal requirements—to all areas of our operations, especially in the defense sector, and we comply scrupulously with frameworks set by governments and international institutions. We do not determine foreign policy and we do not replace state institutions.
As a financial institution that closely monitors global developments, we take such contexts into account when making decisions. Accordingly, in light of defense issues gaining importance on both the European and NATO agendas, we also participate in the financing of this sector.We understand the emotions these issues can evoke. As always, we are open to respectful and transparent dialogue, which we believe can help restore a factual perspective.
The festival remains a space for culture, diversity, and exchange. That is why we continue to support this event.
Finally, we would like to thank you—our audience. First, for your patience. We chose to take time for reflection and internal discussion rather than issue a rushed, reactive statement. We understand that social media operates on immediacy, feeding off emotional response and quick judgment—but we were determined not to follow that path. Second, we thank you for your trust. Thank you for acknowledging New Horizons as a festival that confronts difficult, complex topics—and as a meaningful cultural space in an increasingly divided and radicalized Poland. We have several days of July ahead of us, during which—we hope—you will find plenty of evidence that we are not straying from our long-established course.
The New Horizons Team
Activist statement in response to the festival
Here’s the latest full statement from the organizers, from last week:
We are deeply disappointed with the response of the Nowe Horyzonty festival organizers to our appeal for ending cooperation with BNP Paribas – a bank that indirectly supports Israel’s military actions through investments in the company Elbit Systems. Instead of a constructive reflection and openness to dialogue, we received an attempt to downplay the issue and hide behind a vague statement from the bank claiming it does “not engage in political conflicts.”
However, the facts are clear. BNP Paribas – through its U.S. entities such as BNP Paribas Securities Corp. and BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA – actively trades shares of Elbit Systems, a company that is a major supplier of military technology to the Israeli army.
Data from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shows that in the first quarter of 2025, the bank held over 5,000 shares of Elbit Systems, worth more than 2 million dollars. These are not insinuations – they are hard facts from public investment records.
Additionally, organizations such as BankTrack, Amnesty International, and the Don’t Buy Into Occupation coalition have confirmed that BNP Paribas has previously granted loans and credit lines to Elbit Systems totaling tens of millions of dollars.
Contrary to what the festival partner implies, the bank’s responsibility does not end with CSR declarations – it is measured by real financial actions that directly affect the lives of people living under occupation and the rubble of Gaza.
Elbit Systems produces drones, surveillance systems, and ammunition used in the bombings of the Gaza Strip and in the repression of Palestinian civilians. Every zloty, euro, or dollar that reaches this company via the capital market represents complicity in violence that daily takes lives, homes, and dignity from people stripped of basic rights.
In this situation, a festival that highlights its partnership with BNP Paribas in its very name cannot convince us that it “strongly condemns the genocide carried out by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip.” Such a partnership is, in our view, a political and unethical decision – one that contradicts the core principles and values of the festival. Furthermore, publishing such a statement and considering it sufficient indicates, in our opinion, that the organizers value comfort and funding more than solidarity and courage.
In short: the BNP Paribas statement, which boils down to a vague claim of “non-engagement in political conflicts,” is in our view inadequate, inappropriate, and misleading.
We are disappointed that this response satisfied the Nowe Horyzonty team.
Let us remind everyone once again: culture does not exist in a vacuum. A film festival that showcases works from around the world – including those addressing violence, exclusion, and resistance – cannot simultaneously turn a blind eye to the reality in which it operates.
We once again call for an end to the collaboration with BNP Paribas and for the development of a transparent ethical policy regarding the selection of sponsors. We believe that cultural institutions – if they are to be authentic – must take responsibility for their sources of funding and respond to legitimate criticism.
BNP Paribas is widely involved in cultural funding through their foundation.
I do encourage reading the original statement by the activists, too. It’s a difficult moment; in another year, it might have been easier to overlook any unsavory elements of the bank. And it also merits pointing out that part of the increase in private funding for festivals has come in the context of higher costs and squeezed public funding. However, there’s a lack of wider international arms embargos and sanctions against Israel and settlements, and the EU is for now continuing its EU-Israel Association Agreement even after a recent EU review found that Israel has likely breached its human rights obligations.
Cultural workers and artists are bearing the burden of our leadership’s inaction. But that means now is the time to ask these questions.
I’ll provide updates if I hear them.
More:
BNP Paribas corporate philanthropy page (an interesting thought experiment is to contrast those figures with the bank’s own financial footprint)
BNP Paribas New Horizons International Film Festival