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Photo: Gil Yohanan
Regev speaking at the opening of the Jerusalem music festival
Photo: Gil Yohanan

Filmmakers: Boycott Jerusalem Film Festival

Israeli producers and directors are fuming over festival's decision to pull a documentary about Yigal Amir, allegedly due to pressure from Culture Minister Regev, and are now calling for colleagues to pull their movies from festival.

Some of Israel's leading filmmakers and industry professionals are calling on directors whose films are featured in the Jerusalem International Film Festival to pull their films in protest of festival organizers' decision to pull a documentary about Yigal Amir, prime minister Yitzhak Rabin's murderer. 

 

 

Meanwhile, the Israel Film and Television Producers Association convened the producers whose films are featured in the festival. The group heard from the festival's director, Noa Regev, who asked them to help deescalate the situation. The group did not, however, reach any conclusions.

 

A source told Yedioth Ahronoth that at least two producers where weighing pulling their films from the festival.

 

Regev and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barakat (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
Regev and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barakat (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

 

"It’s a complex issue. We will hold a debate and reach a decision through a vote," he said.

 

The call to pull the films from the festival began online on Wednesday night.

 

Director Ori Rozenwack ("Lod", "Between Desperation and Hope") wrote on his Facebook page: "I know it's easy for me to talk because I don’t have a film featured this year, but in my opinion Israeli producers need to pull their movies from the Jerusalem festival, because of the obvious intervention by Culture Minister Regev in the festival's content, her threats against the festival's organizers, and the weird compromise that was reached on the Yigal Amir movie."

 

Director Avi Mograbi ("Avenge but One of My Two Eyes", "Happy Holiday Mr. Mograbi") wrote: "I promise to not submit my next movie to the Jerusalem Film Festival. A management that does not fearlessly defend its content selection, even if it means resigning – I have no reason to believe that next time they won't compromise in advance. Nor do I know that they will defend my movie if need be."

  

Army Radio's movie critic, Gidi Orsher, joined the call: "Lea van leer, who left us recently, would tell Regev where to go… but the current festival management must be made of a different material."

 

Adversely, Director Dror Moreh is against pulling films from the festival. "I'm not for boycotting anyone, but it doesn’t change the fact that what is going on is embarrassing," Moreh said in regards to the decision to pull the Yigal Amir film from the festival's official lineup. "Committees choose the films being screened, you can't just have some minister come in and decide what goes, and it’s a slippery slope."

 

The festival director, for her part, responded by saying, "In contrast to what is being published, the festival did not give in, or make its decision due to pressure or threat from some minister or other."

 


פרסום ראשון: 06.18.15, 16:16
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