PEN America Responds to the Deaths of Filmmaker Mantas Kvedaravicius and Photojournalist Maksim Levin in Ukraine
"Kvedaravicus and Levin will be remembered for their remarkable courage and for the vital contributions they have made to exposing the devastating, ongoing impact of Russian aggression against Ukraine.… More
Russian Filmmaker Barred From Leaving Country to Attend Film Festival
Russian authorities have banned acclaimed director Kirill Serebrennikov from leaving the country, meaning he will be unable to attend the debut of his Palme d’Or-nominated film Petrov’s Flu at… More
Detention of Chinese Writer and Documentarian Du Bin Appears to Be Politically-Motivated
“So far, the most likely explanation for Du’s detention is that someone in power didn’t like his work, something which is unfortunately easy to believe when one considers the… More
Brazilian Filmmaker Subjected to Wave of Harassment After Satirical Tweet
"We are saddened and disappointed to see that Cuenca has had to endure a wave of vitriolic harassment online and face legal action as a result of his satirical… More
Filmmaker, CUNY Student Detained Unjustly in Egypt
"How many more artists must face threats to their lives for merely expressing themselves?" More
Writers, Actors, Filmmakers Call for Release of Egyptian Film Editor
Over 200 of the world’s most prominent artists, along with nearly two dozen leading human rights groups and film organizations, are calling for the immediate release of Egyptian film… More
The PEN Pod: Claiming Ourselves Through Language with Jose Antonio Vargas
“There’s an emerging narrative around what it means to claim ourselves as people. . . Writing, for me, as an undocumented person was the only place where I was… More
The PEN Pod: Forecasting the Future of the Film Industry with Franklin Leonard
“Seek out the full flower or the full bloom of cultural and artistic expression in the world right now, because we have a lot of time.” More