Latest news with #Miami-born
India.com
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
Happy Birthday Andre Russell: All About KKR All-Rounders Love Story With Model Jassym Lora
photoDetails english 2892743 Andre Russell's wife, Jassym Lora, is a Miami-born model, fashion influencer, and entrepreneur who has carved her own identity beyond being a cricket WAG. With over 364k Instagram followers, she shares fitness content, lifestyle tips, and travel moments, inspiring fans worldwide. She met Russell years ago, got engaged in 2014, and married in 2016. The couple welcomed their daughter, Amaiah, in 2020. Jassym frequently supports Russell during IPL matches, especially for KKR. Known for her glamorous style and independent career, she remains a fan-favorite presence at cricket events, blending elegance, influence, and charisma on and off the field. Updated:Apr 29, 2025, 10:45 AM IST Jassym Lora is a Miami-born model and fashion influencer 1 / 20 Born in Florida, Jassym carved a niche in the fashion world, collaborating with top brands and rocking bold photoshoots. She always dreamed of becoming a Victoria's Secret model 2 / 20 Jassym had big modeling aspirations from a young age and pursued them relentlessly before becoming a cricket WAG. She boasts over 364k followers on Instagram 3 / 20 With lifestyle posts, fitness tips, and travel diaries, Jassym's social media game is on point. Her fitness content inspires thousands daily 4 / 20 Jassym shares high-energy workouts, healthy routines, and real results, inspiring fans to stay fit. She's a full-time entrepreneur and influencer 5 / 20 More than a cricketer's wife, she's a digital businesswoman with her own identity and brand. Andre Russell and Jassym met years ago, off-field sparks flew 6 / 20 Their first meeting remains private, but it was clear they clicked instantly. Russell proposed to Jassym in 2014 7 / 20 The power couple got engaged before Russell's IPL stardom peaked. The couple married in July 2016 in an intimate ceremony 8 / 20 Unlike flashy celeb weddings, theirs was private but elegant. Their relationship sets major couple goals on social media 9 / 20 Candid reels, vacation photos, and family moments—fans love their bond. Jassym embraced cricket after meeting Russell 10 / 20 From no background in cricket to knowing every KKR stat—she's all in. They welcomed daughter Amaiah in 2020 11 / 20 The couple's daughter brought a new dimension to their relationship. Jassym shares glimpses of family life on Instagram 12 / 20 From birthday celebrations to everyday parenting—fans get the inside view. They live in a lavish home in Kingston, Jamaica 13 / 20 The couple's home reflects a perfect mix of luxury and Caribbean charm. She frequently joins Russell for KKR matches 14 / 20 Jassym is a regular fixture at IPL venues, cheering from the stands. Their travel diaries feature exotic locations worldwide 15 / 20 Whether it's Maldives, Miami, or Dubai—they travel in style. Jassym is known as one of the most glamorous WAGs in cricket 16 / 20 Her style evolution is admired across the cricketing world. She attends red carpets and cricket events with Russell 17 / 20 From sports awards to fashion nights, they slay together. Jassym manages her modeling career independently 18 / 20 She didn't let marriage slow her down—still active in the modeling world. Russell often credits her as his biggest support system 19 / 20 In interviews, he praises her emotional strength and grounding presence. Her presence adds star power to IPL 2025 off-field moments 20 / 20 While Dre Russ owns the pitch, Jassym owns the limelight in the stands.
New York Times
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
New Voices Help Museums Tell New (or Forgotten) Stories
When Daniel Merritt became chief curator of an art museum at 32, he did not expect his profession to require him — or the public — to put on skis. But last winter, Merritt, who works at the Aspen Art Museum in Colorado, couldn't resist turning Ruthie's, an abandoned restaurant on an Aspen Mountain ski slope, into a temporary exhibition space. Collaborating with Aspen One, the company managing the property, he organized 'Alex Israel: Heaven,' a show of Israel's life-size cutout portraits of celebrities who had died since the debut of Instagram, including Tina Turner and Sean Connery. The exhibition drew about 5,000 schussing visitors over its 19-day run. 'Going up the lift in a blizzard was intense,' Merritt recalled in a video interview. But, he added, 'I moved here and fell in love with skiing, which I think also was what drove me to start thinking about things that were literally off the beaten path.' Presenting the unexpected — although not necessarily from a high altitude — is a mission among a group of younger professionals in museums nationwide. Having become associate curators or full curators before turning 40, they are helping institutions broaden their audiences and their collections, ushering in new modes of storytelling, and focusing on populations and cultures that were previously ignored. They are helping to redefine not only what an exhibition can be, but also what an artwork is. 'Curators in the past used to primarily take care of the paintings, the objects, whatever was a part of a museum's collection,' said Minna M. Lee, interim executive director of the Association of Art Museum Curators. In recent years, she said, they 'have spent more time trying to show material that sometimes reflected the community' of museum constituents — a movement often led by younger people. Maritza M. Lacayo, a 34-year-old associate curator at the Pérez Art Museum Miami, said she tried to allude to the city in every show she organizes. For 'José Parlá: Homecoming,' an exhibition by a Miami-born Cuban American artist that runs through July 6, Lacayo proposed recreating Parlá's studio inside the museum. She wanted to celebrate his work — colorful, large-scale paintings often inspired by the city's graffiti-covered walls — after his recovery from a life-threatening illness. 'We had him finish one of the paintings in the gallery,' she said in a phone interview. 'We'd never done anything like that before.' So for one weekend last fall, visitors watched Parlá create. 'I wanted the community to see what I've seen and to understand these paintings at a deeper level by watching him actually perform,' Lacayo said. According to the curators' association, the population of young professionals is rising. Today, the average age of the association's new members is 34.9, versus 41.7 in 2015. In 2005, it was 58. One factor that may be fueling this trend, Lee said, is the growing interest in art of the African, Asian and Latin diasporas, which is often 'driven by young people.' It is a field that inspires not only Lacayo but also curators like Ashley James, 38, an associate curator of contemporary art at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, who last year was selected to organize the 2024 Kingston Biennial, a Jamaican showcase of Caribbean diasporic work. For the young seeking to climb the curatorial ladder, more museums and organizations also now offer internships — often paid. 'Here, we have been working hard on that pathway that connects from high school all the way through young curators,' said Ian Alteveer, the Beale family chair of contemporary art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. A small museum without a permanent collection, like the Aspen, where Merritt said he had a collaborative relationship with the director, Nicola Lees, can sometimes offer a faster route to a senior position. And a few years ago, even the august Metropolitan Museum of Art reduced the 14 years of service it required for an employee to rise from assistant curator to full curator. 'That's too long a stretch of time for people to be getting ready,' said Andrea Bayer, the Met's deputy director for collections and administration. 'So it's now a 10-year period,' she added in an interview, 'and people who are hired are given credit for work that they've done elsewhere.' Experience outside of museums can also enhance a career trajectory. Lauren Rosati, 39, an associate curator of Modern and contemporary art at the Met, began organizing experimental-music events when she was still in graduate school. Her goal now is to get museum visitors not only to see art but also to hear it. The latest example is Jennie C. Jones's 'Ensemble,' the museum's new roof garden commission, which opened on April 15 and features three powder-coated aluminum-and-concrete sculptures that are inspired by stringed instruments. One 'is modeled on an Aeolian harp, which is an instrument that is designed to be played by the wind, and we have heard it singing upstairs,' Rosati said. Recently, she arranged for two musicians to be filmed while playing music on the sculptures' strings; the video is on the museum's website. Rosati, who has also helped reintroduce film programming to the museum, said she wanted to expand 'the visibility and scope and potential for media and performance at the Met, including sound and sound technology.' At the Guggenheim, Alexandra Munroe, senior curator at large, global arts, said she had often sought to hire younger curators for their knowledge of areas of scholarship that were only just developing, like contemporary Asian and Asian American art. 'One thing that the younger curators bring us, of course, is artists of their own generation,' she said in an interview. Munroe's staff includes Kyung An, now 39 and curator of the Guggenheim's Asian Art Initiative. An oversaw the museum's first acquisition of a video work by the transgender Asian American artist Wu Tsang, as well as a show of experimental Korean art. Also head of the museum's Global Exhibitions Initiative, An is focusing on organizing touring shows that reach across disciplines and encapsulate the Guggenheim's identity. As a young professional in a museum's long-established system, 'you have the ability to interrogate that a little bit and disrupt it, if possible,' she said. 'With a lot of respect,' she added with a laugh. Carrie Dedon, 37, the associate curator for Modern and contemporary art at the Seattle Art Museum, always considers an audience that naturally disrupts the status quo: children. As the museum's only curator with offspring under 5, she often works with its education department to make sophisticated shows more inviting to the smallest visitors. 'Poke in the Eye: Art of the West Coast Counterculture,' which Dedon organized last summer, featured audio guides in the form of 1960s-era phones and a huge table holding touchable clay. But Dedon noticed that her daughter, then 3, would never be able to reach the table the museum installed. ''Can we just put a stool in the space?'' Dedon recalled asking her colleagues. 'Because I have kids at home, I'm seeing those things,' she said. Although many young curators are drawn to Modern and contemporary art, they are also making an impact with work that is centuries old. 'I'm by no means an expert on every object that I curate,' said Courtney Harris, 36, an associate curator of decorative arts and sculpture at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. 'So I try to keep that in mind as I write labels, and I think about using a conversational voice.' Harris, for instance, recently acquired for the museum's collection an 18th-century Dutch ceremonial goblet inscribed with a toast to good trade. In writing the label for the glass, which will soon go on view, she started not with scholarly details but with a question: 'Do you think this deal went well?' The text asks visitors to reflect on how they celebrate successes. To connect the museum to the public, Harris has also relied on a favorite tool of her generation: social media. For 'Tiny Treasures: The Magic of Miniatures,' a 2023-24 show, she and the exhibition designer, Luisa Respondek, created videos of Harris's fingers handling some of the objects, which instantly revealed the artworks' scale. The material went viral; one video, of an 1853 patent model library step-chair, became the museum's top Facebook post ever, with 1.6 million views. It earned 2.35 million on Instagram. Another young curator, Ross Patterson II, has helped shed light on a subject many museumgoers think they already know: World War II. Patterson, 35, is lead curator of the new exhibition 'On American Shores: The Aleutian Islands Campaign' at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. The show focuses on American efforts to regain Alaskan territory that the Japanese captured in 1942. Those battles are not frequently discussed, said Patterson, whose father's great-uncle served in the Aleutians. While organizing the show, the museum's first on the campaign, he said he wanted 'to bring forward some of these stories that are often forgotten.' Illuminating neglected stories and revealing new ones is a purpose these curators said they embraced, whether forging a first-time partnership with an institution in Asia or discovering an artist close to home. 'I think young voices are critical in shaping the discourse on our history, on contemporary ideas, on who gets to be heard, and who gets to speak,' Rosati of the Met said. Young curators, she added, 'are critical in that debate.'
Miami Herald
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Ecuador faces high-stakes presidential runoff between incumbent, leftist challenger
As Ecuador approaches a decisive presidential runoff election on April 13, the race between incumbent President Daniel Noboa and leftist candidate Luisa González is locked in a virtual dead heat. The election encapsulates a nation at a crossroads, with voters deeply divided over security concerns, economic instability and political governance. A central figure looming over the contest is former President Rafael Correa, head of González's political party, the Citizen Revolution Movement. Critics warn that a González victory could signal Correa's continued influence over Ecuadorian politics, with concerns he may exert control behind the scenes. Beyond party allegiances, the election underscores a profound ideological divide within Ecuadorian society. Right-leaning voters have coalesced around the Miami-born, Harvard-educated Noboa, while left-leaning supporters favor González and her promise of social and economic reform. 'In recent years, Ecuador has experienced deep political polarization, which has only intensified as we approach the election,' said political analyst Javier Guarnizo from Quito. 'This divide affects every aspect of national discourse, even as Ecuadorians seek solutions to pressing challenges like education, healthcare and national security.' With the nation facing rising crime rates and economic instability, the election is more than just a political battle — it's a referendum on Ecuador's future. Noboa's tough-on-crime policies and commitment to economic stability will be weighed against González's pledge for economic reform. Latest election polls show a statistical tie, meaning undecided voters hold the key to Ecuador's future. The 2025 presidential election marks a rematch following a fiercely contested first round in February. While Noboa ended up ahead, recent election surveys now place González slightly ahead, with 51% of voter support compared to Noboa's 49%. A crucial turning point came with the endorsement of third-place candidate Leonidas Iza, whose 538,000 supporters could sway the election in González's favor. With only days left before the election, both campaigns are intensifying their outreach to swing voters. Over 13.7 million Ecuadorians are registered to vote and must decide between re-electing Noboa for a full term, 2025-29, or return to so-called Correísmo, which would make González Ecuador's first female president. The key election issue Ecuadorians head to the polls against a backdrop of escalating gang violence, largely driven by drug trafficking and organized crime. National security remains the nation's foremost concern, with the crisis worsening despite Noboa's aggressive measures. In early 2024, Noboa declared an 'internal armed conflict' against criminal organizations, deploying the Ecuadorian military and proposing high-security prisons modeled after El Salvador's approach to crime. Despite the efforts, January 2025 became the most violent month in Ecuador's history. González also advocates a hardline stance on crime but criticizes Noboa's reliance on foreign military contractors. Instead, she proposes strengthening Ecuador's security forces and addressing crime's root causes through social programs targeting poverty and unemployment. Stability vs. reform Ecuador's struggling economy is another key battleground. Noboa's administration secured a $4 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, implementing tax hikes and subsidy reductions to stabilize public finances—moves that, while aimed at long-term economic stability, have strained his approval ratings. González, aligning with Correa's economic policies, vows to renegotiate the IMF deal, lower taxes and expand social welfare programs. Her critics argue this could jeopardize Ecuador's financial standing, while her supporters see it as a necessary shift toward economic recovery. Regardless of who wins, governance challenges loom large. Ecuador's fractured National Assembly lacks a clear majority, with González's Citizen Revolution Party holding 67 seats and Noboa's National Democratic Action Party controlling 66 seats of the 151-member legislature. Both will need to negotiate with smaller political factions, making coalition-building crucial for passing legislation. Contrasting global strategies On the international stage, Noboa has taken a pragmatic but bold approach, exemplified by his controversial decision to send police into Mexico's embassy to arrest a fugitive politician, straining Ecuador-Mexico relations. González, aligned with Latin America's leftist bloc, has pledged to restore ties with Mexico and strengthen relationships with progressive leaders like Brazil's Lula da Silva and Colombia's Gustavo Petro. Critics warn this could mean a return to Correa's foreign policies, rekindling alliances with socialist-leaning governments. Former Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos, speaking at a Miami forum hosted by the Interamerican Institute for Democracy, voiced concerns that a González victory would effectively return Correa to power. 'Let's not deceive ourselves—Correa will be the one governing. She is merely a puppet,' Santos asserted. Institute Executive Director Carlos Sánchez Berzaín echoed this sentiment, warning that Ecuador could rejoin the 'Socialism of the 21st Century' movement, originally championed by Venezuela's Hugo Chávez. The defining issue Despite political and economic debates, the overwhelming concern for Ecuadorians remains security. The country has witnessed a dramatic surge in gang violence, particularly in cities like Guayaquil, Esmeraldas and Quito. Drug trafficking disputes, prison riots and organized crime have led to widespread chaos. Authorities have struggled to contain the escalating violence, with frequent attacks on police officers, government buildings and civilians. Rival gangs, many with ties to international drug cartels, have turned Ecuador into a key transit hub for cocaine shipments bound for the U.S. and Europe. In response, Noboa declared a state of emergency, deploying the military and enforcing curfews in high-risk areas. His administration has also classified major criminal organizations as terrorist groups, granting security forces expanded authority to combat them. However, the measures have yet to yield tangible results, with kidnappings, bombings and targeted assassinations continuing to destabilize the country. The crisis has severely affected Ecuador's economy, tourism and foreign investment, making security the defining issue of this election. As Ecuadorians cast their votes, they must decide whether Noboa's hardline approach or González's broader social strategy offers the best path forward.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Miami Beach mayor's plan to evict O Cinema has brought global backlash. Will it pass?
A proposal last week by Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner to terminate O Cinema's lease after the art house theater screened the Oscar-winning documentary 'No Other Land' has been met with fierce backlash, both locally and abroad. On Monday afternoon, Meiner and city commissioners received an open letter from more than 600 members of the 'international filmmaking community,' who called the mayor's effort 'an attack on freedom of expression.' Among the signers were filmmaker and activist Michael Moore, Miami-born 'Moonlight' director Barry Jenkins, and Laura Poitras, who directed the 2015 Oscar-winning documentary 'Citizenfour.' Meanwhile, O Cinema is preparing for possible legal action. The theater is being represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, which has questioned the legality of Meiner's resolution to oust the theater from a city-owned building and strip its grant funding. The theater is also receiving legal counsel from the Miami-based Community Justice Project. But ahead of a City Commission meeting Wednesday where the proposal is on the agenda and expected to draw dozens of speakers, Meiner has shown no signs of backing down. 'No Other Land' documents the destruction of a group of Palestinian villages in the West Bank at the hands of the Israeli military. In a newsletter last Tuesday, Meiner, who is Jewish and a staunch supporter of Israel, announced his proposal to evict the theater after it proceeded with screenings of the film, which he called 'a false one-sided propaganda attack on the Jewish people that is not consistent with the values of our City and residents.' He has not spoken publicly on the matter since. Meiner met Monday morning with representatives of O Cinema, but it doesn't appear that the two sides reached a resolution. ACLU of Florida Legal Director Daniel Tilley said after the meeting that he couldn't talk about the details of settlement negotiations, and a city spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. But hours later, O Cinema announced it would hold a press conference Tuesday 'to discuss the First Amendment concerns' raised by Meiner's proposal. 'Defunding and evicting a local independent cinema under these circumstances would be patently unconstitutional, plain and simple,' Tilley said in a statement. 'If supporters of the resolution truly value freedom, they must also value free speech, which means all speech is protected — not just the speech certain politicians agree with.' The theater signed a five-year lease with the city in 2019 that was renewed last year until July 2026, according to documents reviewed by the Miami Herald. Under the agreement, the city can terminate the lease 'for convenience' with 180 days' notice 'without cause and without liability' to the city. But some legal experts have said the mayor's proposal may run afoul of free speech protections, in part because Meiner has indicated that his resolution was brought in response to the theater's decision to screen 'No Other Land' over his objections. '[N]ormalizing hate and then disseminating antisemitism in a facility owned by the taxpayers of Miami Beach ... is unjust to the values of our city and residents and should not be tolerated,' Meiner wrote in his newsletter last week. 'For this reason, I am introducing legislation to move on from O Cinema, as permitted by our contract, and seek a cultural partner that better aligns with our community values.' Meiner would need support from at least three city commissioners to achieve the majority vote required to pass his resolution. Only one commissioner, David Suarez, has publicly indicated support for Meiner's approach, telling the Herald last week that Miami Beach has 'zero tolerance for pro Hamas/terrorist propaganda,' though Suarez did not explicitly say how he would vote. READ MORE: Miami Beach mayor moves to end O Cinema lease after screening of Israeli-Palestinian film Two commissioners, Kristen Rosen Gonzalez and Tanya Katzoff Bhatt, have raised concerns about the proposal. Rosen Gonzalez said that canceling the theater's lease 'would result in an expensive lawsuit we will lose' and proposed that instead of canceling the showings of 'No Other Land,' the cinema could also show another film, 'Screams Before Silence,' a documentary told through the perspective of Israeli women who were attacked by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. Three other commissioners have provided little or no public indication of their views on the proposal. Commissioners Alex Fernandez and Laura Dominguez declined to comment, and Commissioner Joseph Magazine told the Herald on Friday that he was 'in fact-gathering mode about what the right decision is.' 'I'm really focusing on trying to speak to as many community leaders that I almost know will have differing opinions on this,' Magazine said. 'My goal is always to bring our community together.' Meiner's proposal would terminate O Cinema's lease at the old City Hall building on Washington Avenue in South Beach and immediately cut off future city funding. In recent months, the city agreed to fulfill two grant agreements with O Cinema — one for about $26,000 and one for about $54,000 — and has already paid half of those amounts. In a joint letter to city officials last Friday, the Florida Muslim Bar Association, Palestinian American Bar Association and American Muslim Bar Association said they were 'troubled by the actions being taken to limit the public's access to diverse viewpoints, as well as the cinema's ability to conduct business free from viewpoint-based censorship from the City.' 'The First Amendment of the United States protects freedom of speech and expression,' the groups said. 'This includes the right of filmmakers to produce and exhibit their work, and the right of the public to view it.' READ MORE: Miami Beach mayor urges theater to cancel Oscar-winner he calls 'hateful propaganda' In a March 5 letter, Meiner had urged the theater to cancel scheduled screenings of the film, citing critiques from Israeli and German government officials. O Cinema CEO Vivian Marthell responded the next day that the theater would not show the film based on 'concerns of antisemitic rhetoric.' But Marthell reversed course one day later, a decision that followed conversations with the theater's staff and board of directors, according to Kareem Tabsch, co-founder and chair of the board of directors of O Cinema. 'That was a decision that was made under duress,' Tabsch said of the initial cancellation. 'There was a panic for the future of the organization.' Since deciding to show the film and facing the threat of eviction, Tabsch said O Cinema has received an outpouring of support. 'The filmmaking community has really rallied behind this, because I think ... an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us,' he said. 'We cannot let government become involved in dictating what is permissible or not for arts organizations to present to the public, and we certainly can't allow them to decide what the public should be viewing.' In addition to letter-writing campaigns to elected officials and statements of support from groups like the International Documentary Association, O Cinema has received 'a modest uptick' in donations, Tabsch said. Still, he said, the theater relies heavily on city funding. 'If we are evicted and our funding is cut, we will be homeless,' he said. South Beach is O Cinema's only current location, though the theater announced plans last month to open a new location in Miami's Little River neighborhood in June. This story was produced with financial support from Trish and Dan Bell and from donors comprising the South Florida Jewish and Muslim Communities, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.
Miami Herald
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Miami Beach mayor's plan to evict O Cinema has brought global backlash. Will it pass?
A proposal last week by Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner to terminate O Cinema's lease after the art house theater screened the Oscar-winning documentary 'No Other Land' has been met with fierce backlash, both locally and abroad. On Monday afternoon, Meiner and city commissioners received an open letter from more than 600 members of the 'international filmmaking community,' who called the mayor's effort 'an attack on freedom of expression.' Among the signers were filmmaker and activist Michael Moore, Miami-born 'Moonlight' director Barry Jenkins, and Laura Poitras, who directed the 2015 Oscar-winning documentary 'Citizenfour.' Meanwhile, O Cinema is preparing for possible legal action. The theater is being represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, which has questioned the legality of Meiner's resolution to oust the theater from a city-owned building and strip its grant funding. The theater is also receiving legal counsel from the Miami-based Community Justice Project. But ahead of a City Commission meeting Wednesday where the proposal is on the agenda and expected to draw dozens of speakers, Meiner has shown no signs of backing down. 'No Other Land' documents the destruction of a group of Palestinian villages in the West Bank at the hands of the Israeli military. In a newsletter last Tuesday, Meiner, who is Jewish and a staunch supporter of Israel, announced his proposal to evict the theater after it proceeded with screenings of the film, which he called 'a false one-sided propaganda attack on the Jewish people that is not consistent with the values of our City and residents.' He has not spoken publicly on the matter since. Meiner met Monday morning with representatives of O Cinema, but it doesn't appear that the two sides reached a resolution. ACLU of Florida Legal Director Daniel Tilley said after the meeting that he couldn't talk about the details of settlement negotiations, and a city spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. But hours later, O Cinema announced it would hold a press conference Tuesday 'to discuss the First Amendment concerns' raised by Meiner's proposal. 'Defunding and evicting a local independent cinema under these circumstances would be patently unconstitutional, plain and simple,' Tilley said in a statement. 'If supporters of the resolution truly value freedom, they must also value free speech, which means all speech is protected — not just the speech certain politicians agree with.' The theater signed a five-year lease with the city in 2019 that was renewed last year until July 2026, according to documents reviewed by the Miami Herald. Under the agreement, the city can terminate the lease 'for convenience' with 180 days' notice 'without cause and without liability' to the city. But some legal experts have said the mayor's proposal may run afoul of free speech protections, in part because Meiner has indicated that his resolution was brought in response to the theater's decision to screen 'No Other Land' over his objections. '[N]ormalizing hate and then disseminating antisemitism in a facility owned by the taxpayers of Miami Beach ... is unjust to the values of our city and residents and should not be tolerated,' Meiner wrote in his newsletter last week. 'For this reason, I am introducing legislation to move on from O Cinema, as permitted by our contract, and seek a cultural partner that better aligns with our community values.' Meiner would need support from at least three city commissioners to achieve the majority vote required to pass his resolution. Only one commissioner, David Suarez, has publicly indicated support for Meiner's approach, telling the Herald last week that Miami Beach has 'zero tolerance for pro Hamas/terrorist propaganda,' though Suarez did not explicitly say how he would vote. READ MORE: Miami Beach mayor moves to end O Cinema lease after screening of Israeli-Palestinian film Two commissioners, Kristen Rosen Gonzalez and Tanya Katzoff Bhatt, have raised concerns about the proposal. Rosen Gonzalez said that canceling the theater's lease 'would result in an expensive lawsuit we will lose' and proposed that instead of canceling the showings of 'No Other Land,' the cinema could also show another film, 'Screams Before Silence,' a documentary told through the perspective of Israeli women who were attacked by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. Three other commissioners have provided little or no public indication of their views on the proposal. Commissioners Alex Fernandez and Laura Dominguez declined to comment, and Commissioner Joseph Magazine told the Herald on Friday that he was 'in fact-gathering mode about what the right decision is.' 'I'm really focusing on trying to speak to as many community leaders that I almost know will have differing opinions on this,' Magazine said. 'My goal is always to bring our community together.' Meiner's proposal would terminate O Cinema's lease at the old City Hall building on Washington Avenue in South Beach and immediately cut off future city funding. In recent months, the city agreed to fulfill two grant agreements with O Cinema — one for about $26,000 and one for about $54,000 — and has already paid half of those amounts. In a joint letter to city officials last Friday, the Florida Muslim Bar Association, Palestinian American Bar Association and American Muslim Bar Association said they were 'troubled by the actions being taken to limit the public's access to diverse viewpoints, as well as the cinema's ability to conduct business free from viewpoint-based censorship from the City.' 'The First Amendment of the United States protects freedom of speech and expression,' the groups said. 'This includes the right of filmmakers to produce and exhibit their work, and the right of the public to view it.' READ MORE: Miami Beach mayor urges theater to cancel Oscar-winner he calls 'hateful propaganda' In a March 5 letter, Meiner had urged the theater to cancel scheduled screenings of the film, citing critiques from Israeli and German government officials. O Cinema CEO Vivian Marthell responded the next day that the theater would not show the film based on 'concerns of antisemitic rhetoric.' But Marthell reversed course one day later, a decision that followed conversations with the theater's staff and board of directors, according to Kareem Tabsch, co-founder and chair of the board of directors of O Cinema. 'That was a decision that was made under duress,' Tabsch said of the initial cancellation. 'There was a panic for the future of the organization.' Since deciding to show the film and facing the threat of eviction, Tabsch said O Cinema has received an outpouring of support. 'The filmmaking community has really rallied behind this, because I think ... an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us,' he said. 'We cannot let government become involved in dictating what is permissible or not for arts organizations to present to the public, and we certainly can't allow them to decide what the public should be viewing.' In addition to letter-writing campaigns to elected officials and statements of support from groups like the International Documentary Association, O Cinema has received 'a modest uptick' in donations, Tabsch said. Still, he said, the theater relies heavily on city funding. 'If we are evicted and our funding is cut, we will be homeless,' he said. South Beach is O Cinema's only current location, though the theater announced plans last month to open a new location in Miami's Little River neighborhood in June. This story was produced with financial support from Trish and Dan Bell and from donors comprising the South Florida Jewish and Muslim Communities, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.
