A queer film festival in Geneva has removed Israel’s official Oscar submission, "Tell Me Everything," from its program after several local pro-Palestinian organizations threatened to boycott the event, according to Variety.
"Everybody’s Perfect," which opens Friday, had originally scheduled two screenings of director Moshe Rosenthal’s film. But festival spokeswoman Charlotte Spector told Variety that organizers received an email last week from another Geneva-based festival, Palestine, Filmer C’est Exister, warning of a boycott.
“They started writing messages like, ‘We will boycott your festival,’” Spector said. “When people talk about boycotting a festival, that is a very serious threat.”
According to an Instagram post cited in the report, pressure also came from a pro-Palestinian student group at the University of Geneva, BDS Geneva and other organizations. Both film festivals receive some funding from the city of Geneva.
Variety reported that organizers subsequently asked Rosenthal to clarify his “position regarding the current Israeli government and the war in Palestine.” Rosenthal and production company Green Productions responded the following day that they did not represent the Israeli government and did not finance or make films in support of its policies. Despite that response, the festival canceled the screenings on Monday.
“A film does not represent a government, and filmmakers should not be held responsible for its policies,” the producers said. “Many of us in Israel oppose the war and are highly critical of our government. Would Iranian or American filmmakers be asked to make similar declarations about their governments before their films were screened?”
Festival artistic director Sylvie Cachin told a Swiss newspaper that the cancellation “has nothing to do with the film itself,” but rather with a desire to avoid controversy just days before the festival opened. Spector similarly stressed that the film’s subject matter was unrelated to the current conflict.
“It is a beautiful film about the 1980s and AIDS,” she said. “There is nothing in it that is even remotely connected to what is happening now.”
Festival organizers apologized to Rosenthal and the production company, saying they personally rejected the backlash but felt compelled to cancel the screenings “for the good of the festival audience.”
Israel’s Oscar submission
"Tell Me Everything," starring Assi Cohen, is set in the 1980s and follows a 12-year-old boy forced to confront a secret far beyond his ability to process, as his family begins to fracture around him.
The film won 10 Ophir Awards, including best feature film, making it Israel’s official submission for the Academy Award for best international feature.
It also premiered in the international competition at the Sundance Film Festival, becoming the first Israeli feature in a decade to be selected for the competition.