Canadian Filmmaker John Greyson has withdrawn his film Covered from this year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in protest of their City-to-City Spotlight on Tel Aviv. Greyson has taken this principled standin response to a call from the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), which asks artists and audiences to boycott the City-to-City Spotlight on Tel Aviv. PACBI describes the spotlight as a celebration of Tel Aviv and Israel which “can only be seen by Palestinians and supporters of a just peace around the world as an act of complicity in whitewashing Israel’s war crimes and other grave violations of international law. It is a cynical and immoral politicization of the TIFF.”
Today, Greyson sent a letter to the organizers of TIFF outlining his reasons for pulling out of the festival. He writes “My protest is against the Spotlight itself, and the smug business-as-usual aura it promotes of a "vibrant metropolis [and] dynamic young city... commemorating its centennial", seemingly untroubled by other anniversaries, such as the 42nd anniversary of the occupation. Isn't such an uncritical celebration of Tel Aviv right now akin to celebrating Montgomery buses in 1963, California grapes in 1969, Chilean wines in 1973, Nestles infant formula in 1984, or South African fruit in 1991?”. Greyson is one of a growing number of prominent Canadians, such as Naomi Klein, who support the Palestinian campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against the State of Israel until it complies with international law.
The full text of Greyson’s letter is available at:
http://tiny.cc/tiff_open_
[I recommend reading the full text and sending it on as a sample of what can and should be done regarding festivals celebrating Israel or its individual cities. Dorothy]
The PACBI statement can be found at:
http://www.pacbi.org/
Media Contacts:
John Greyson - 647-272-0386 or johngreyzone@gmail.com
Alternate contact: 416-890-3703 or protest.tiff@gmail.
0 Have Your Say!:
Post a Comment