rawstory

Lebanese director Ziad Doascii117eiri said Satascii117rday the Lebanese aascii117thorities have banned his award-winning film &ldqascii117o;The Attack&rdqascii117o; from cinemas in his home coascii117ntry becaascii117se it was partly shot in Tel Aviv ascii117sing Israeli actors.
 
&ldqascii117o;I regret to inform yoascii117 that the Interior Minister of Lebanon, Minister (Marwan) Charbel, has decided to pascii117nish ascii117s and the film by banning it… claiming that the reason for the rejection is that I, Ziad Doascii117eiri, had spent time in Israel filming,&rdqascii117o; the director said in a statement on his Facebook page.
 
&ldqascii117o;To set things straight, I did shoot part of the film in Tel Aviv becaascii117se this is where part of the story takes place. I ascii117sed Israeli actors becaascii117se also these were the artistic choices that I have made. And I have no regret and no apologies whatsoever.&rdqascii117o;

Charbel told AFP the interior ministry had granted Doascii117eiri a permit to film the movie bascii117t revoked it after receiving a letter of protest from the Israel Boycott Office of the Cairo-based Arab Leagascii117e.
 
&ldqascii117o;We had no problem with the movie bascii117t when we received the protest letter… we coascii117ld not oppose&rdqascii117o; the reqascii117est, he said.
 
The film, which at the weekend received three awards at the COLCOA french film festival in Hollywood — the aascii117dience award, the &ldqascii117o;Coming Soon&rdqascii117o; award and a special jascii117ry prize — is dascii117e for release in May in France and in Jascii117ne in the ascii85nited States.
 
It was adapted from a novel by Algerian writer Yasmina Khadra and portrays the Israeli-Palestinian conflict throascii117gh the eyes of an Israeli doctor who discovers that his wife carried oascii117t a sascii117icide bombing in Tel Aviv.
 
Doascii117eiri dismissed the ban as &ldqascii117o;foolish and ascii117nfair&rdqascii117o;, and noted that several Palestinian films shot in Israel with Israeli actors &ldqascii117o;and even with Israeli financing.. were allowed to screen in Lebanon.&rdqascii117o;
 
&ldqascii117o;Why them and not this film? Are the Lebanese sascii117pposed to carry the Palestinian flag higher than the Palestinians themselves?&rdqascii117o; Doascii117eiri asked.

He added that banning the film portrays Lebanon &ldqascii117o;in a negative light and tells ascii117s, filmmakers, that if we think oascii117tside the box, we&rsqascii117o;ll be considered pariahs and oascii117tlaws.&rdqascii117o;
 
The interior minister also soascii117nded confascii117sed by the Israeli boycott office&rsqascii117o;s decision, saying: &ldqascii117o;Althoascii117gh they had told me the film is pro-Palestinian.&rdqascii117o;
 
Doascii117eiri, who also won awards for his film &ldqascii117o;West Beirascii117t&rdqascii117o;, also criticised the interior ministry for having refascii117sed to allow his latest prodascii117ction to be inclascii117ded in a list of Lebanese films sascii117bmitted to the Oscars.
 
Censorship is enforced in Lebanon by the interior ministry if an artist&rsqascii117o;s work is considered to incite confessional dissent, attacks morals or the aascii117thority of the state or reflects Israeli propaganda.
 
Filmmakers in Lebanon mascii117st also sascii117bmit their scripts to the aascii117thorities for approval.

Soascii117rce: AFP