A passionate debate over a documentary on Israel-Palestine is reshaping this year’s Hamptons International Film Festival, we’re told.
After a local temple objected to the way the famed fest, helmed by Alec Baldwin, planned to present Venice Film Festival award-winning movie “NAZA,” organizers have changed its advertising and added more movies to the lineup in an attempt to give a more rounded representation of the war.
On September 23, Temple Adas Israel in Sag Harbor wrote to the festival’s board — which is co-chaired by the “30 Rock” star and includes Bob Balaban, Kathleen Turner and others — saying that “although we would prefer you not to screen the film, we fully support your right to screen it and in no way believe in censoring creative expression.”
But the Temple said it objected to the way HIFF describes NAZA, which is due to be screened Saturday evening, “as a film that ‘reveals in detail the systems behind Israel’s calculated mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.’”
It added, “By presenting this inflammatory accusation as fact, rather than making unequivocally clear that it is merely the filmmakers’ conclusion-claims that are fiercely disputed, HIFF crosses the line from arts programming into political propaganda.”
The Adas Israel board suggested that the festival “prepare a brief statement acknowledging that the film presents serious and deeply contested allegations and have the HIFF representative introducing the film present that statement directly to the audience before the film begins,” as well as displaying the statement onto the screen along with the names of festival sponsors and handing a written version to audience members.
Baldwin’s co-chair, Randy Mastro, responded in a letter saying festival had already adjusted it wording to say, the movie’s “depiction of events has caused controversy, drawn criticism, and generated intense public debate.” Mastro said that “the answer to speech considered offensive is not censorship; it is more speech,” saying “that is why we are going to screen this film.”
Mastro stated the festival was going to expand “our programming and dialogue to provide more diverse views including premiering “The Choice,” about Israeli families grieving after October 7 who have drawn solace from the best-selling memoir of Holocaust survivor Dr. Edith Eger, and doing an encore screening of ‘Holding Liat,’ about the ordeal a hostage couple and their families endured after October 7.”
He said that after those films there will be Q&As with the filmmakers, and — as a result of the exchange — the festival added a panel discussion on Sunday featuring John Spencer, an expert on urban warfare, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, journalist Richard Behar, and Libby Lenkinski, founder of Alibi, a fund supporting storytelling about Israeli-Palestine, which produced “Holding Liat.”
We hear others, including the Jewish Center of the Hamptons and individual letter writers, had also expressed concerns about “NAZA.” East End Jews for Israel have planned a rally to take place outside Sag Harbor Cinema.
The festival, which is made up of events at six venues in East Hampton and Southampton, runs from October 2 until October 12.
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