More stories from the Toronto International Film Festival are continuing to come out. Al Jazeera English has a very interesting interview with Scandar Copti, director of the film Ajami. Copti is a Palestinian citizen of Israel, and his film just won best picture in the Israeli version of the Oscars. The film, and its success, is being used to attack the protesters in Toronto who opposed the festival’s City to City program with Tel Aviv. Here’s Bradley Burston writing in Haaretz:
Ajami was among a number of dark and critical Israeli films, among them "Lebanon" and "Jaffa," which were effectively sniffed at and dismissed by the strident, star power-chasing protest at the Toronto International Film Festival, a protest so shallow and so misplayed, that it has had the effect of doing the occupation a distinct favor.
Burston implores the protesters to go see Ajami instead of continuing "to blunder their way into doing the bidding of an eternal occupation." Well, it ends up that Copti was in full support of the Toronto protest. He not only pulled his film from the City to City showcase, but also refused to attend the festival all together. From Al Jazeera English:
Your celebration comes at a time when trilateral peace negotiations are stagnant. Do you feel this is a development for Palestinian cinema, or is Israel using this opportunity to expand its public image with its Brand Israel campaign, which is meant to make Israel more ‘attractive’?
The film is based on a story about a revenge murder. I think they chose the film because it is a good film. It is a film that didn’t scare them. It’s a film that’s humanising. It’s a very dramatic and powerful film.
People who go to see Ajami will have lots of room to interpret and think about the reality of the situation without feeling the message was forced, or someone saying "this is all your fault".
The film has a lot of self-criticism about the society I live in, but not from a director’s perspective or manifesto.
But will Israel exploit it? I’m sure they will. They tried to do so in Toronto, but I pulled my film out of the City to City whose focus this year was Tel Aviv, and had them place it in the world cinema category. I also did not go to Toronto because I was really upset with their decision. They want people to believe Israel is a diverse society that is accepting, which is not true.
In addition, Copti says:
I am happy that I’m being recognised as a filmmaker, and I value my rights just like any other citizen. But as a Palestinian citizen of the Israeli state, I have no equal rights. The idea of the citizen is non-existent for Palestinians living inside the Israeli state.
I am aware that Israel has exploited and tokenised Palestinians for their branding campaign, to show the world that Israel is a multicultural place that gives everyone an equal opportunity, even Arabs. Yet they won’t even use the word Palestinian because we’re not allowed to be Palestinian. Palestine does not exist for them.
I wonder what Burston would say to that?
