A movie theater in Warsaw has canceled plans to host a festival of erotic short films after discovering that the program included two Israeli productions.
According to festival organizer Ilya Svidler, an agreement with the Kinoteka cinema had already been signed and payment for the venue had been made in full. However, just days before the scheduled screening, organizers received an official notice from the theater's events manager, Agnieszka Gołębska, informing them that the event had been canceled because some of the films were Israeli.
In a letter sent to organizers, the cinema wrote: "As the films scheduled for screening are Israeli productions, we regret to inform you that we cannot proceed with the event. The Israeli origin of the films was not brought to our attention during the initial planning stages and was only discovered at a later stage. In light of the current geopolitical situation, our organization does not cooperate with entities or projects connected to Israel or Russia."
The cinema said it would refund the organizers in full for the venue rental.
The Best Erotic Shorts festival features five short films, two of which were produced in Israel. As part of the festival's international screening tour, showings have already taken place in Latvia and Israel, with additional screenings planned in Cyprus and Ukraine.
Svidler strongly criticized the theater's decision and published the letter on social media.
According to Svidler, the decision amounted to discrimination on the basis of national origin, since the event was canceled only after the theater learned that some of the films had been produced in Israel.