The blowback continues over the Miami Beach mayor’s threat to close a movie theater over its screening of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land. More than 600 people including several Oscar winners have signed an open letter to the city decrying the potential shutdown of indie theater O Cinema as “an attack on freedom of expression, the right of artists to tell their stories, and a violation of the First Amendment.”
See the letter and its signatories — including Academy Award winners Alex Gibney, Laura Poitras, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Ezra Edelman, Dan Cogan, Barbara Kopple and Barry Jenkins — below.
Last week, Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner issued a draft resolution calling for termination of a lease agreement with the 300-seat O Cinema, located at Old City Hall, a property owned by the city. The resolution, which will be debated at a city commission meeting Wednesday, also would eliminate about $40,000 in grants provided by Miami Beach to the nonprofit that runs the theater. O Cinema began screening No Other Land on March 7, five days after it won Best Documentary Feature at the Academy Awards.
The film, directed by a collective of four Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers, provides a ground-level view of life for Palestinian residents of the rural Masafer Yatta area of the occupied West Bank who live under an expulsion order by the Israel Defense Forces, which wants the land for a military training zone.
In a March 5 letter to O Cinema CEO Vivian Marthell, Meiner wrote: “The film director’s comments at the Oscars prove the antisemitic nature of the film using Jew-hatred propaganda and lies such as ‘ethnic cleansing.’ Unfortunately, Jews for thousands of years have heard this antisemitic rhetoric; I am just surprised that O Cinema, utilizing Miami Beach taxpayer funding, would willingly disseminate such hateful propaganda.”
The open letter revealed today says its signatories “invite critical discussion of any film.”
“O Cinema has a long history of supporting important and diverse viewpoints that foster dialogue,” the letter reads. “We as filmmakers invite critical discussion of any film, but your decision to punish O Cinema for screening No Other Land is an attack on freedom of expression, the right of artists to tell their stories, and a violation of the First Amendment. It is also an offense to the people of Miami Beach, and Greater Miami as a whole, who deserve to have access to a diverse range of films and perspectives.”
O Cinema has two more No Other Land screenings set for this week — both of which are sold out, according to the theater’s website.
Here is the open letter in full, along with those who had signed it as of Monday afternoon:
To the Mayor and City Commission of Miami Beach—
We, the undersigned members of the international filmmaking community, write to express our deep concern and condemnation of your attempts to censor O Cinema, a local independent movie theater, for its exhibition of the Academy Award-winning documentary, “No Other Land,” by withholding its funding and ending its lease.
O Cinema has a long history of supporting important and diverse viewpoints that foster dialogue. We as filmmakers invite critical discussion of any film, but your decision to punish O Cinema for screening “No Other Land” is an attack on freedom of expression, the right of artists to tell their stories, and a violation of the First Amendment. It is also an offense to the people of Miami Beach, and Greater Miami as a whole, who deserve to have access to a diverse range of films and perspectives.
We urge you to reconsider your decision and to allow O Cinema to continue to operate without interference.
Sincerely,
Alex Fumero
Cristina Costantini
Billy Corben
Alfred Spellman
Alec Castillo
Nausheen Dadabhoy
Sara Maamouri
Brenda Coughlin
David Magdael
Kristofer Ríos
Sean Flynn
Mariana Van Zeller
Dana Ballout
Jeff Plunkett
Phil Lord
Sara Dosa
Yoni Golijov
Daniel Larios
Louise Heem
Amy Storkel
Elijah Stevens
Mariem Pérez Riera
Michelle Malley Campos
Colleen Cassingham
Anabelle Marshall
Mars Verrone
Miranda Pennell
Frances Scott
Kate Hackett, Ace
Shiraz Ahmed
Evan Carter
Isabel Castro
Taylor Fitzgerald
Zach Zuckerman
Mia Bruno
Adam Baran
Dan Vigliano
Laura Nix
Kira Boden-Gologorsky
Jane Wagner
Marjan Safinia
Jordan Lord
Robert Espinoza
Katja Esson
Tom Maroney
Conor Williams
Winslow Crane-Murdoch
Alex Simmons
Nicholas Jaser
Carlos Rafael Betancourt
Rebecca Adorno
Claire Read
Marie Therese Guirgis
Alison Klayman
Adam Marshall Present
Li Lu
Sasha Wortzel
Ryan Brown
Ina Fichman
Lauren Clarke
Katarína Jonisováa
Andrea Córdoba
Clara Jo
Katherine Clary
Emily Sternlicht
Enrique Rivera
Annabelle L. Mullen Pacheco
Maleja Rodriguez
Marion Tuor
Gisela Rosario Ramos
Monika Navarro
Drew Swedberg
Dominic Willsdon
Laura Schaffer
Nindra Cordero
Albert Tholen
Anne-Marcelle Ngabirano
Alan Yaspan
Jessica Epstein
Julie Ha
Reid Hildebrand
Jeffrey Morrow
Julia Liu
Robie Flores
Jon Peltz
Dannel Escallón
Zaferhan Yumru
Maria Clement
Jasmin Lopez
Anthony Ing
Sara Salvador
Karen Gaytán
Robert Colom-Vargas
Sarah Garrahan
Monica Sorelle
Lillian Rivera Sanchez
Dawn Lyon
Bron Moyi
Jason Fitzroy Jeffers
Ariel Novo
Ricardo Acosta
Benett Holgerson
M’daya Meliani
Michaelle Mcgaraghan
Jessica Farr
Grace Lee
Jaclene Kleinfeld
María Davila
Jennifer Crystal Chien
Christopher Hernandez
Rashaud Michel
Samara Chadwick
Gabriella Garcia Pardo
Laura Di Lorenzo
Amelia Keleher
Andres Gimenez
Samuel Correa
Gladis Arteta
Andrea Molina
Karla Reyes
Pamela Largaespada
Chad Mow
Ashley Lindo
Víctor Acevedo
María Corina Ramírez
Zach Mandinach
Noah Salzman
Cristina Rivera
Sebastian Marcano-Perez
Natalia Molina
Dyani Douze
Lee Pivnik
Jose Colom-Vargas
Juancristobal Paez
Juan Barquin
Alexander Garmizo
Juan Matos
Mariana Pineda
Mark Pulaski
Stef Rubino
Bex Mccharen
Adaeze Nwakobi
Isabella Bobadilla
Nikki Heyman
Edward Frumkin
Alexis Bosch
Brendan Walsh
Margo Hannah
Inés Vogelfang
Lou Balikos
Ian Rosenberg
Emery Morales
Gabriela Serra
Cristina Maingrette
Jose Arriaza
Ashley Richardson
Kaitlyn Cooper
Iman Clark
Sofía Pereda
Andrea Acosta
Natalie Cardenas
Emma Piscia
Karl-Eugene Boehm
Jonathan David Kane
Christine Bourie
Adriana Santos
Eli Medrano
Joel Hernandez
Kimberly Avendano
Francisco Pedro
Tab Gon
Luisa Conlon
Francesco Senatore
Mary Bernate
Natalie Cabo
Neal Mulani
Catherine Camargo
Rita Baghdadi
Tiffany Sia
Karl Mccool
Josa Eve Alvarez
Erika Cantin
Tomas Alvarado
Misael Soto
Ruben Carrazana
Tamara Sanchez
Caro Gutierrez
Uzeo Olowu
Jenn Huynh
Claudia Lanio
Amanda Izquierdo
Liz Ferrer
Bryant Buernet
C. Díaz
Rachel Miller
Michelangelo Alvarez
Christina Murcia
Zara Moreno
Trevor Owens
Nina Boyer
Joe Antuono
Caroline Renard
Lee Hirsch
Elizabeth Czerpak
Jasmine Evaristo
Carter Jackson-Brown
Victoria Gonzalez
Daniela Roger
Renee Royale
Mariano Gutierrez
Francess Archer Dunbar
Lizzie Suarez
Tsz Yiu Fung
Arianna Barrios
Nicole Galego
Miriam Garcia
Inga Moren
Sissi Chinea
Alejandra Medina
Haiwen Yu
Rostislav Vaynshtok
Hunter Huseby
Saskia Laricchia
Somi Hernandez
Anjuli
Barbara Valencia
Ana Villalonga
Samuel Vargas
Rachel Johnson
Brielle Mcvay
Katy Prohira
Andrew Herrero
Jean-Paul Laos
Michelle Salcedo
Courtney Coleman
Ivan Rome
Derek
Nathalie Perdomo
Karis Knoll
Hamid Bendaas
Daisy Ali
John Lynch
Stevenson Jean
Sandy Heyaime
Emilia Mckinley
Douglas Markowitx
Mary Acosta
Jessilyn Valera
Jessilyn Valera
Mavis Pangantihon
Lily Garrison
Derek Gabaldon
Araceli Garcia
Sophie Ramos
Gaby Alexander
Stefani Melendez
Natalya Kochak
Vanessa Pacheco
Sheherazade Thenard
Maya Wilson-Fernandez
Nina Osoria Ahmadi
Misk Ameer
Aranza Diaz
Jasmarie Hernandez
Roxana Barba
Sophia Shokripour
Diana Androsova
Shelby Slayden
Fausto Sanchez
Alanna Siemer
Erin Luna
P. Scott Cunningham
Max Rhoads
Jocelyne Chaput
Johanna Piard
Jameka Autry
Ash Casper
Sandy Gonzalez
Keisha Rae Witherspoon
D Peters
Nerlande Joseph
Andrea Rodriguez
Adriana Gavilanes
Roberta Lagrandeur
Alvaro Jofre
Cara Despain
Ysabella Oases
Corinna Wollmann
Ashley Perdigon
Cindy Echevarria
Matthew Montesdeoca
Aisha Hassan
Angela Reza Tures
Sofia Bodniza
Anastatia Abraham
Julieta Rivadero
Carolina Caruso
Katherine Abad
Ryan Grille
Humberto Blanco
Mileydy Artiles
Michelle Torres
Raul Cruz
Michelle Prado
Vaughn Page
John Rodriguez
Danilo Landim
William Garcia
Rachel Lilenbaum
Arielle Wolff
Gina Martins
Dan Escobedo
Cindy Paredes
Fallon Fitzgerald
Maddox Zeng
Paula Pulgar-Vidal
Lily Grogan
Isabella Martinez
Jean Paul Aristizabal
Nery Rodriguez
Christopher Duasso
Will Osborn
Angel Roman
Nicole Torres-Duprey
Alejandra Ruiz
Wilhelm Schalaudek
Caleb Scott
Alexandra Alfonso
Teresa Guzman Pagan
Catherine Verblud
Jessica Edwards
Tat Caldevilla
Vasisth Sukul
Chantelle Albernas
Korelan Matteson
Franchesca Carrera
Nick León
Evelyne Zapata
Paola Vales
Brandon Harris
Celeste Kelly
Maria Quero
Lunes Oña Perez
Marissa Ramirez
Michael Tuckman
Ryan Werner
Jonathan Trujillo
Julia Saturno
Diego Casas
Abby Sun
Patricia
Christopher Diaz
Dante Blacjlidge
Anastasia Moray
Angeles Parada
Caterina Haddad
Mo Amodio
Sergio Gallego
Brett Rosenfeld
Joel Enamorado
Jorge Courtade
Ray Ruiz
Kai Ady
Ken Castaneda
Karli Evans
Joel Gonzalez
Wilmer Nunez
Camila Montoya
José Cortes
Samantha Herrera
Solange Acosta
Claribel Avila
Sophie Agudelo
Nila Duranza
Jessica Rosales
Brennan Jasso
Jean Pierre-Louis
Sara Lamothe
Reynaldo Perez
Estefania Parada
Monica Cordero
Jorge Suarez
Marisa Tomei
Christopher Duarte
Zoë Gonzales
Zev Ginsberg
Laura Casanas
Pablo De Pablo
Andrew Hevia
Malachi Fenn
Isabella Herrera
Cristina Fernandez
Daniela Llanes
Ilana Ferguson
Franko Cruz
Ashley Sepulveda
Patricio Gaudelli
Emmanuel Williams
Yusef Audeh
Pedro Ugas Jr
Tyriq Askew
Eduardo Alfonso
Chris Masters
Surayyah Muhammad
Malcolm Moran
Daniel Hess
Itzel Basualdo
Stephanie Welch
Nikolas Espinal
Lisbeth Triana
Clyde De Quesada
Dana Croschere
Kayla Warner
Nicolas Villamizar
Frank Jaffe
Jaylee Martins
Casey Moffett
Brianna Sams
Carlos Rivera
Livia Martinez
Vania Junco
Andrea Orellana
Julio Guzmán
Annalisa Shoemaker
Emilio Pesantes
Silvia Silva
Ben Babbitt
Linda Poder
Ted Hope
Paloma Tosta
Steffi Rangel
Saskia Laricchia
Raia Michaela
Ziyad Saadi
Keenan Hoover
Jon Bardin
Adam Sekuler
Kat Sachs
Nimco Sheikhaden
Michael Metzger
Houston Sims
Jason Foster
Samantha Calero
Elizabeth Bielby
Usama Alshaibi
Sean Kirby
Lily Hetherington
Lyle Werner
Andreas Levi
Bella Racklin
Amanda Bailly
Ana Osorio
Eman Akram Nader
Varvara Degtiarenko
Stephanie Glazier
Riley Bartolomeo
Oj Parker
Laura Poitras
Sebastian Zeck
Jessamyn Ansary
Sue Simon
Chris Schmidt
Qin Lin
Almudena Toral
Emma Miller
Lyn Miller-Lachmann
Cecilia Aldarondo
Claire Bellmont
Joseph Fusco
Gordon Quinn
Alex Gibney
Matthew Seig
Ryan Deitch
Rick Minnich
Francesca Ariemma
Gabriel Berde
Ali Moss
Hilary Nichols
Jimmy Chin
Elan Golod
Jocelyne Clarke
Carla Borea-Brown
Karen Jacobs
Connie Field
Rex L. Miller
Margaret Rossoff
Soraya Burtnett
Ben Sharif
Sarah Stauder
Emily Cohan
Laura Paull
Helki Frantzen
Nathan Hill
Rose Vincelli Gustine
Courtney Hermann
Paul Barnes
Megan Wennberg
Mark Obenhaus
Benjamin Filler
Dana Reilly
Elizabeth Westrate
Wendy Espinal
Ra’anan Alexandrowicz
Clairesa Clay
Jaron Gilinsky
Ezra Edelman
Akash Raje
Marlin Mattson
Rodney Evans
Cary Woods
Michael Rowin
Abby Ginzberg
Andres Escamilla
Jennie Livingston
Luke Hodges
Alison Byrne Fields
Wolfgang Knoepfler
Larry Saul
Ina Fichman
Gary Hustwit
Scott Blakeman
Jim Lebrecht
Jaz Moncrieffe
Dan Cogan
Geeta Gandbhir
Greko Sklavounos
Terrie Samundra
Bob Sacha
Krista Danylkiw
Jessica Medaille
Barbara Kopple
David Walter Lech
Rosemary Rawcliffe
Nick Schwartz
Steven Bognar
Katie Carter
Flavia De Souza
Judy Kibinge
Nathalie Chybik
Emma Schultz
Barry Jenkins
Abby Harri
Michael Moore
Joseph Patel
Isis Masoud
William Clevinger
Angela Colombo
Julie Cohen
Keith Wilson
Lynn Rigney
Wendy Durrwachter
Chris Toussaint
Alexandra Codina
Jill Bauer
Vijay Vaidyanathan
Julian Caballero
Janis Plotkin
Sunny Vachher
Samyak Verma
Nelson Kim
Christophe Cogerino
Heather Merrill
Marcia Jarmel
Amarise Defranco
An Tran
Jonathan Howell
Eva Hart-Grullon
Anand Patwardhan
Joseph Alexander-Short
Mario Pacheco
Chris Coats
Beverley Cook
Chelo Alvarez-Stehle
Flore Cosquer
Maria Gamble
Marco Victor
Xuan Vu
Matt Wolf
Shanna Maurizi
Daniela Gutierrez
Rick Morrone
Claudia Gutierrez
Markie Hancock
Vivian Belik
Sahar Driver
Haley Kastner
Laurie Malkoff
Sonya Burres
Lola Rocknrolla
Joaquin Ruano
Charlotte Baumann
Jude Blackburn
Anurima Bhargava
Cheryl Hess
Claudia Claremi
Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
Monica Berra
Jonathan Cuartas
Elizabeth Landesberg
Romina Palmero
Melissa Tinambacan
Alfie Koetter
Christie Marchese
Nik Vollmer
Keith Summa
Krista Manis
Darren Foster
Lucy Mukerjee
Eisa Davis
Stephanie Palumbo
Kd Ohair
A.E. Hunt
Craig Baldwin
Anna Lavatelli
Sarah Hinkes
Ellori Mae
Jennifer Morris
Michelle Lamarche
Sarah Mosses
Tim Anderson
Amanda Zinoman
Takema Robinson
Jordan Shankman
Kelly Sears
Barclay Wright
Iram Parveen Bilal
Adrian Arredondo
Kevin T Monahan
Jim Browne
Amanda Sloane
Thom Powers
Steven Reich
Anna Kayes
Elizabeth Weatherford
Judy CitrinP.S. Please note that this letter is a living document that will continue to collect signatures until corrective measures are taken by Miami Beach.
