7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Israeli film fest postponed; ‘nothing political about it'
Chennai: Owing to protests over Israel's attack on Palestine, the Israeli Film Festival organized by the Indo Cine Appreciation Foundation (ICAF), which was scheduled to be held from May 29 to 31 at the Tagore Film Centre in RA Puram, has been postponed indefinitely.
Organizers say cultural centres have been hesitant, as human rights activists and writers have been expressing concerns over having such an event during a time of war. Writers' groups, politicians, and activists called the move politically insensitive and requested state govt to cancel the fest.
Sasikanth Senthil, MP and member of Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers' Artists' Association (TNPWAA) posted a poster of the festival announcement on his X handle and said, "As someone who deeply believes in the power of art to build bridges, I rarely call for cultural cancellations.
But there are moments in history when silence or neutrality risks being complicit." He says this event could be perceived as a "tacit endorsement or at the very least, indifference to the suffering of a besieged population".
"This is not a rejection of art," says Senthil, but a call to "be mindful of context, timing, and the moral message we send as a society".
"This festival has nothing to do with politics; it's all about films," says Emanadar Thangaraj, ICAF's director of administration.
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"The Israel and Palestine war has nothing to do with India. Why should that stop us from consuming the art they make? We've been organizing such events for the past 20 years, and the purpose of such events has been to expose film lovers to films around the world. I don't understand why people are making this political.
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TNPWAA state president Madhukoor Ramalingam, says the association believes films are the most important medium of communication to address the masses on important topics and issues.
"One of the ways we can condemn what Israel is doing is by not promoting art that comes from a place that bombs innocents."
A source close to ICAF says that although external factors pushed for the festival to be postponed, "internal politics has escalated the issue". Despite resistance, ICAF is still planning to hold the festival wherever possible. "We will organize this at a centre that will allow screenings to take place. No change of plans," says Thangaraj.
