Pinkwashing Exposed is an hour-long documentary on anti-pinkwashing and Palestine solidarity activism in Seattle edited by Amy Mahardy and directed by Dean Spade.
“Pinkwashing” is a term activists have coined for when countries engaged in terrible human rights violations promote themselves as “gay friendly” to divert attention from terrible human rights violations, in this case diverting attention from the brutal colonization of Palestine. Israel is the country most famous for pinkwashing, engaging it as a strategy in their rebranding campaign for the last decade.
Film Synopsis: In 2012, activists in the Pacific Northwestern region of the US responded to an Israeli Consulate-funded pinkwashing tour featuring Israeli gay and lesbian activists that was coming to the region. Local queer Palestine solidarity activists exposed the “Rainbow Generations” tour as pro-Israel propaganda and got some of the events, including the tour’s centerpiece event hosted by the City of Seattle’s LGBT Commission, cancelled. A significant backlash ensued involving the Seattle City Council and Seattle’s leading LGBT and HIV organizations. Through the inspiring story of these activists’ victory, “Pinkwashing Exposed” explores how pinkwashing works and what local activists are doing to fight back.