The screening of three films from September 8 to 10 under the banner of the Shalom Europa Festival was cancelled this Friday, September 6, a decision confirmed in a press release the same day by Stéphane Libs, director of the Star cinemas in Strasbourg.
The edition scheduled for June had already been postponed for “security reasons”, for fear of the repercussions in France of the war between Israel and Hamas as well as the tensions caused by the fate of civilian victims and the humanitarian catastrophe at work in the Gaza Strip.
Direct and anonymous threats were made by telephone to Star cinemas on Thursday. As a result, its management decided to cancel the screenings, said Stéphane Libs, contacted during the day: “It has taken on proportions that we can no longer control.”
Groups have launched an online campaign against the festival
Several groups had previously called on their social networks for the screenings to be cancelled. Comité Palestine-Unistras’, Jeune garde Strasbourg, AE-Alternative Étudiante Strasbourg and Marches Palestine 67 shared the following message: “In the midst of the genocide in Palestine, the Star cinema is hosting the Israeli film festival”. This widely shared message was accompanied by a call to participate in a mailing campaign to demand its cancellation.
“The decision to cancel was taken so as not to add violence to the tense context and to protect employees and the public,” stated Cinémas Star.
They assert, if need be, their open-mindedness: “We offer a protected space to reflect on the world. We are a place where one can become aware of and denounce inequalities, injustices, oppressions and violence in all its forms. The editorial line of Star cinemas has, until now, made it possible to host the Palestinian Film Festival and the Israeli Film Festival.” The Palestinian Film Festival takes place in April.
The Shalom Europa team said it was “disheartened” on Friday. The festival published its own statement at the end of the day: “The Star cinema has suffered a distressing rise in tensions due to its involvement in hosting this event. A leading local cultural player, this same Strasbourg establishment is nevertheless recognized for offering a diversity of points of view and cultural sensitivities.” And added: “On this eve of September 7, 11 months to the day after the Hamas attacks in Israel, the Shalom Europa committee expresses its deep sadness and dismay in the face of this situation which prevents any space for artistic and cultural dialogue around Israeli cinema, and which endangers freedom of artistic expression.”
The cancellation in turn denounced
Reactions denouncing this cancellation have multiplied on social networks. Franck Leroy, president of the Grand Est Region, reacted officially, castigating the “few associations that call themselves ‘pro-Palestinian'”. Believing that they are targeting the wrong people, he highlighted the following: “At a time when some are silencing the voices of women in Afghanistan, at a time when filmmakers and artists are being imprisoned, tortured and murdered in Iran, it is inconceivable to me that in 2024, in France, the country of freedom of expression, in Strasbourg, the capital of human rights, we should give in to extremists.”
Independent Israeli cinema that often acts as a counter-power
“Shalom”, often used as a form of “greeting”, means “peace” in Hebrew. For 16 years, the Shalom Europa festival has demonstrated the vitality of an independent Israeli cinema that is not exactly complacent towards the government and often acts as a counter-power. It is supported by a team of film enthusiasts who intend to show films in Strasbourg that are mostly unreleased and who bring in directors and actors. In 2008, the first edition of Shalom Europa opened with this first screening, Waltz with Bashir an animated film by Ari Folman, about the Sabra and Chatila massacre.
