The strong gesture of the directors of The Last Queen of Algeria

The directors of the film “The Last Queen of Algeria” decided to withdraw their film from a cinema in Montreal, Canada, in solidarity with Lebanese director Jocelyn Saab, whose films about Palestine were censored by this cinema.

The directors of the film “The Last Queen of Algeria” explained in a press release published on Facebook that this decision was taken in support of the director, who fell victim to “censorship” by “Park Cinema” in the Canadian city where a large Algerian community resides.

“In solidarity with the films related to Palestine by Lebanese director Jocelyn Saab, which were banned from the Parc de Montreal cinema, we, the directors of the film “The Last Queen”, decide to withdraw our film from the programming of this same cinema.”written by the directors of the hit film directed by Adela Bendemrad and Damien Honore.

The directors of the film “The Last Queen of Algeria” explained that before making their decision, they contacted Park Cinema to obtain clarifications about withdrawing the Lebanese director’s films.

The directors of the film “The Last Queen of Algeria” condemn censorship of films related to Palestine

“Cinema Park explained to us that a few hours before the showing of Jocelyn Saab’s films, in addition to an electronic petition against holding the event, the cinema was subjected to an “attack” in which it received several hundred emails and “threats”, in “their sayings of different natures that they cannot “Speak it openly.” They reported on this, denouncing the “deeply disturbing, ambiguous, undemocratic” and “unacceptable” practices. »

Says the Algerian actress and French director “Shocked by the censorship and abuse to which Palestinian cinema is subjected, while ethnic cleansing is taking place in Gaza and the West Bank.”

In addition to Le Parc cinema in Montreal, films that talk about Palestine fall victim to censorship in Europe. Adila Bendemirade and Damien Honoré cite two cases. The first was in France, where it was the movie “Pink” by Norwegian director Mars Grorud “It was removed from school programs by the administration of the University of Paris. The second was in Germany, where the film “Duty” by Anne-Marie Jacir was canceled “without an explanation from one of the television channels.”