Citing BDS, Filmmakers Pull Out Of Tel Aviv LGBT Film Festival
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Several filmmakers scheduled to participate in an LGBT film festival in Tel Aviv have pulled out, citing pressure from the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel.
The Tel Aviv International LGBT Film Festival is scheduled to open on Thursday and run through June 10.
Among those who have pulled out in support of the cultural boycott of Israel are South African director John Trengrove, whose film The Wound is the festival’s opening-night production; Canadian-Pakistani screenwriter and actor Fawzia Mirza, whose film “Signature Move” will be shown at the festival; and Nadia Ibrahim, a Palestinian living in Denmark who was to serve as a member of the festival jury and appear on a panel.
Trengrove reportedly decided to cancel his participation after his arrival in Israel, which was paid for by the cash-strapped festival, according to Haaretz.
The effort reportedly is being led by Pinkwashing Israel, which says that TLVFest “promotes the cynical use of gay rights – known as pinkwashing – to distract from and normalize Israeli occupation, settler colonialism and apartheid,” the Jerusalem Post reported.
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