For decades, Hollywood has drawn inspiration from North African cultures without giving us authentic representation. The representations of our North African/Maghrebi community are NON-EXISTENT. There are virtually no modern productions featuring our contemporary deep cultures, societies, or daily lives in American films or series.  In big blockbusters, when a Maghrebi/North African role finally appears, it is almost always given to actors from other communities through whitewashing, blackwashing, South Asian washing or other forms of replacement.

Several recent examples of films in which major roles were rightfully ours, yet we were erased support what I'm saying, such as Emperors Geta and Macrinus Gladiator 2 (played by Joseph Quinn and Denzel Washington), Cleopatra in the the documentary of the same name, Vivi princess of Alabasta in the One Piece live action (played by Charithra Chandran), and the Dune saga, which borrows aesthetic codes inherent to our culture without crediting it or featuring any North Africans on screen. We can also mention the upcoming movie based on the historical character of Hannibal produced by Denzel Washington. The need for representation of other minority groups is in no way an excuse to erase our own. We cannot continue to distort history.

Yet our North African people and their history stretch back thousands of years: from the Amazigh kingdoms of antiquity to present day, we have countless stories to tell, countless faces to show, and countless voices to amplify. 

We demand:

• New productions based on our history, our cultures and community.
•  Real Maghrebi/North African actors portraying Maghrebi/North African characters.
• We demand that new Hollywood film productions fully acknowledge our history and culture, giving it proper credit.
• normalize the presence and inclusion of North African actors in film productions of all genres

Our history. Our faces. Our voices. It's time for major Hollywood studios to stop replacing us and start telling our stories with us. Whether you are North African or not, sign this petition and share it widely so that  Warner Bros., Paramount, Universal, and others finally hear our plea to ensure that marginalized communities find their place and are recognized globally.