{"id":7174,"date":"2014-09-05T00:10:00","date_gmt":"2014-09-05T07:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=7174"},"modified":"2014-09-03T12:10:38","modified_gmt":"2014-09-03T19:10:38","slug":"filmmakers-withdraw-from-queer-film-fest-over-israeli-flag","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2014\/09\/05\/filmmakers-withdraw-from-queer-film-fest-over-israeli-flag\/","title":{"rendered":"Filmmakers withdraw from Queer Film Fest over Israeli flag"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the 11 days of the Vancouver Queer Film Festival, which ended Aug. 25, two directors withdrew their films from the program because the festival included an advertisement from Yad b\u2019Yad, a Vancouver-based group that supports the Jewish LGBTQ community. The advertisement depicted an Israeli flag alongside a pride flag and wished VQFF mazal tov on its 26th anniversary.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Jonathan Lerner, chair of Yad b\u2019Yad. (photo from Jonathan Lerner)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe formed a few months ago and decided to put ads out in the community to let people know we exist,\u201d said Jonathan Lerner, chair of Yad b\u2019Yad. \u201cOur intention was to celebrate pride and congratulate the film festival on 26 years, and we used the two flags to show our solidarity with the community. The ad was not intended to be political.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patty Berne, director of the film Sins Invalid<\/em>, was the first to withdraw from VQFF, on Aug. 14, stating she was \u201cangered and disappointed\u201d that VQFF accepted the ad. The ad, she said, \u201cattempts to portray the state of Israel as a friend to LGBTQ communities, particularly in the current moment as the people of Palestine are living through hell and dying in staggering numbers daily.\u201d<\/p>\n

Can Candan, director and producer of My Child<\/em>, withdrew his documentary a few days later because, he said in an open letter to VQFF organizers, the festival had not taken a \u201cpublic and vocal stand against the Israeli government\u2019s unacceptable policies.\u201d He cited an obligation to join the BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) campaign \u201cas filmmakers and human rights activists with conscience.\u201d<\/p>\n

The filmmakers\u2019 withdrawal from the festival was disappointing, said Drew Dennis, VQFF executive director. \u201cWe had many conversations encouraging them to keep their films in the festival, so I was saddened that they withdrew, but we want to respect them for the decision they made for themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"image<\/a>
Yad b’Yad was at the centre of a controversy at this year\u2019s Vancouver Queer Film Festival for its ad, which included an Israeli flag. (image from Jonathan Lerner)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dennis said neither of the two withdrawn films contained any content relevant to the Middle East and insisted that VQFF had no political stance. \u201cWe heard from a number of filmmakers who were voicing concerns about the ad, but the festival is a place where we bring people together and allow a diversity of viewpoints. Our mandate is pretty simple: to bring communities together and provide a platform for safe, open dialogue around those films.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mik Turje, another director who raised concerns but did not withdraw his film, also issued a statement, as did Queers Against Israeli Apartheid and the Simon Fraser Public Interest Research Group, a student-run centre. Their statements claimed that ads like Yad b\u2019Yad\u2019s attempt to \u201cpinkwash\u201d Israel\u2019s image by focusing on the state\u2019s gay rights rather than on its treatment of the Palestinians. Turje said although the VQFF has made it clear it has no position on the issue, \u201cI believe that choosing neutrality in a situation of oppression is a form of complicity. The project of pinkwashing dehumanizes Palestinians in our name, it frames Israel as a liberal democracy in our name, and it fuels Islamophobia and racism in our name.\u201d<\/p>\n

After concerns about the ad were raised back in July, VQFF decided to donate Yad b\u2019Yad\u2019s $630 in ad revenue to Just Vision, an organization whose stated goal is to use film and multimedia to help foster \u201cpeace and an end to the occupation by rendering Palestinian and Israeli nonviolence leaders more visible, valued and effective in their efforts.\u201d Dennis said there\u2019s \u201cconcern, compassion for what\u2019s happening in the region right now, but it\u2019s not part of our mandate to look at this, so we chose to make the donation in an effort to contribute in a more productive way.\u201d<\/p>\n

That didn\u2019t sit well with Lerner and members of Yad b\u2019Yad. \u201cBy treating our ad revenue differently from every other group and ad, they essentially bowed to the pressure, succumbed to the bullies,\u201d he said. \u201cThe gay community knows full well what it feels like to be alienated and excluded, but that\u2019s what the VQFF is promoting by treating our ad revenue differently. They\u2019ve made us feel unwelcome because of our religion and our nation of origin.\u201d Lerner said Yad b\u2019Yad was not given a choice about where its ad money would be donated. \u201cI don\u2019t know much about Just Vision, but we don\u2019t support our money being donated. It\u2019s not what we paid for,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Dennis said the VQFF board would be meeting in the fall to review its policies and practices, and that the controversy over this year\u2019s film festival had raised the fact that \u201csomething as complex as this issue is not served by our policy. There wasn\u2019t a large organizational decision around advertisements,\u201d Dennis said. \u201cWe focus much more on the films than on the ads, but there\u2019s an opportunity for us to look at that in the fall.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lerner told the Independent<\/em> that VQFF has asked for public input on the issue be sent to feedback@outonscreen.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lauren Kramer<\/strong>, an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond, B.C. To read her work online, visit laurenkramer.net<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the 11 days of the Vancouver Queer Film Festival, which ended Aug. 25, two directors withdrew their films from the program because the festival included an advertisement from Yad b\u2019Yad, a Vancouver-based group that supports the Jewish LGBTQ community. The advertisement depicted an Israeli flag alongside a pride flag and wished VQFF mazal tov […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1863,4330,1862,1861,1860,1859],"class_list":["post-7174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local","tag-drew-dennis","tag-israel","tag-jonathan-lerner","tag-vancouver-queer-film-festival","tag-vqff","tag-yad-byad"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7174\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}