Don’t miss the latest developments in business and finance.

American cinema guilds, SAG-AFTRA denounce Trump's executive

Image
Press Trust of India Los Angeles
Last Updated : Feb 01 2017 | 1:28 PM IST
The Directors Guild of America, SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guilds have denounced President Donald Trump's controversial executive order barring people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US, calling it "un-American" and against the idea of "equality of opportunity."
Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, whose movie "The Salesman" is nominated in the best foreign film category, has already announced that he will boycott the Academy Awards due to the order as it would have prevented him and his team from entering the US.
The 16, 000 member strong DGA said "open exchange of art" is at the core of what cinema and television are about and the January 27 order prevents this.
"The DGA strongly believes that artists - regardless of their national origin, faith, or gender - should be able to come to the United States to showcase their work. Policies that prevent this, without due consideration, should be of concern to all who care about art and cinema.
"The open exchange of art is core to who we are, it's what motion pictures and television are increasingly about - drawing humanity together, transcending borders and cultures. The DGA will continue to support the ability of artists to work and share their art in the United States," the DGA said in its statement.
SAG-AFTRA, which represents more than 160,000 performer said their membership "includes creative professionals from all over the world" and the new "immigration policy" is misguided.

More From This Section

"This union values equality of opportunity regardless of race, gender, creed, disability, sexual orientation or country of birth. Any public policy that enacts discrimination based on religious or national background runs absolutely counter to those values and will be vigorously resisted.
This immigration policy is misguided and we will support our fellow artists every step of the way."
The presidents of the Writers Guild of America blasted the order, said they were troubled by the order.
"It is both unconstitutional and deeply wrong to say that you cannot enter our country because of where you were born or what religion you were born into," said WGA West president Howard Rodman and WGA East president Michael Winship.
The move has already been slammed by prominent Hollywood names such as Ashton Kutcher, John Legend and Jennifer Lawrence and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Also Read

First Published: Feb 01 2017 | 1:28 PM IST

Next Story