Geneva queer film festival drops Israeli Oscar entry 'Tell Me Everything' after boycott threats

Left · 2Everybody's Perfect, a queer film festival in Geneva, Switzerland, has dropped Moshe Rosenthal's Israeli film 'Tell Me Everything' from its lineup after receiving boycott threats. 1 2 Left · 2The festival cancelled two planned screenings, set for 13 and 17 October; Variety says the decision came on Monday, days before the festival opens on Friday 9 October. 2 1 Left · 2According to a festival representative, the threats came in messages from another Geneva-based festival, Palestine, Filmer C'est Exister, which emailed the festival last Thursday; communications lead Charlotte Sector said they wrote of a boycott repeatedly. 1 2

Left · 1Variety, citing an Instagram post, names other groups that pressed for the film's removal: Student Coordination for Palestine at the University of Geneva, BDS Geneva, CRAQ and Marad. Palestine, Filmer C'est Exister did not respond to Variety's queries. 1 Left · 1Variety understands that the festival asked Rosenthal to state his stance towards the current Israeli government and the war; he and producers Green Productions replied that they do not represent the government and do not finance or produce films promoting its policies. The festival dropped the film anyway. 1 Left · 2Artistic director Sylvie Cachin said the cancellation was not related to the film itself but to a wish to avoid controversy just days before opening. Sector described it as a three-day decision made with 'great regret', and a message to the filmmakers said the festival did not condone the backlash but acted for the well-being of its audience and the other films. 1 2

Left · 1Sector told The Hollywood Reporter the festival lacks the legal backing of a larger event ('we're not Sundance, right? We don't have lawyers'), has received 'hate messages' from progressive groups over the cancellation, and warned that the boycott 'might go the other way'. 2 Left · 2The film, which premiered at Sundance and is Israel's submission for the Oscars' international feature category, is set in the 1980s and follows a 12-year-old boy who discovers a secret about his father as the HIV/AIDS crisis takes hold. The Hollywood Reporter says it won best picture at Israel's Ophir Awards; Variety says it set a record for nominations. 1 2 Left · 2The producers told Variety that a film does not represent a government, that many Israelis oppose the war, and asked whether Iranian or American filmmakers would be asked for similar declarations. The Hollywood Reporter could not reach representatives for Rosenthal or the film. 1 2

Left · 2Both outlets place the case amid wider cultural boycott efforts, including a pledge signed by actors such as Javier Bardem and Emma Stone (Film Workers for Palestine, with over 1,300 signatories per The Hollywood Reporter), and a Locarno protest in August. Israeli filmmakers and the Israeli Producers Association have rejected such boycotts as counterproductive. 1 2