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Israeli actress Eliza Chanowitz resorted to the press, after the Stockholm Film Festival withdrew her invitation to attend with the screening of her series “Chanchi”. The actress, who holds American citizenship, accused festival officials of canceling her invitation due to the Israeli war on Gaza, which forced the festival to issue a statement, in which it confirmed He did not and will not cancel an artist’s invitation for political reasons.
Chanowitz told Deadline magazine that she was planning to travel to Stockholm to attend the screening of her series, and since she had not received notification of her flights and accommodation from the festival, she decided to contact the administration, but she was told that her invitation was no longer available because the Israeli embassy was sponsoring her travel costs. It was withdrawn, as the embassy’s resources were allocated to other purposes due to the war.
The actress insisted and offered to pay her travel costs herself, and the response from the hospitality department was that the festival, which will be held from November 14 to 19, 2023, must “take a stand” and that hosting her might cause an “unpleasant situation” for her due to the current war. in Gaza. “It was not clearly explained what (the situation) was,” the actress said.
Elisa Chanowitz again declined and said she still intended to attend, but was told that under the Swedish Foreign Ministry’s warning against travel to and from Israel, they could no longer welcome her as a guest.
Chanowitz responded that she would take full responsibility for any situation that left her stranded. The festival responded again, saying it could instead hold an online Q&A to accompany the screening of its series, which had not been confirmed despite not wanting to attend. The Israeli actress did not give up, so she first sought help from the Israeli “Hot” radio station and presented the story as she envisioned it.
In an official statement, Chanowitz accused the Stockholm Film Festival of cowardice, and added: “I wanted to have a good time at a cultural event, where I could take a break from our scary reality and enjoy and discuss art.”
The “Hot” radio network also issued a statement about the actress’s story as she told it, and said in the statement: “The show has become a stage for controversy about the war in Gaza.” Chanowitz told Deadline that she received a new email from Stockholm on Monday in which the festival apologized, said that there had been a misunderstanding and that he “would love” her attendance, and offered to cover her accommodation costs if she took her flight, but also asked her to issue a statement stating that the festival… He never moved to cancel her series.
In a second official statement, the actress said: “The festival’s excuse of why they don’t want me to attend has changed 3 times, which makes me feel like they are not being honest with me. I don’t think I will go because I don’t feel welcome anymore.”
The global reactions sparked by the Israeli war attacks on Gaza, which resulted in the deaths of more than 11,000, have extended to film festival screenings and discussions, with the Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival (EDFA) finding itself at the heart of the war in recent days, after it sparked a pro-Palestinian protest. On the opening night, there was criticism from Israeli professionals who demanded the dismissal of artistic director Orwa Nirabia.
It is noteworthy that the Stockholm International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, and was launched in 1990.
