The Last Queen of Algiers was removed from the Montreal cinema

The directors of The Last Queen of Algiers have decided to withdraw their film from a theater in Montreal, Canada, in favor of Lebanese director Jocelyn Sapp, whose films about Palestine have been censored by the theater.

The directors of The Last Queen of Algiers explained in a press release that the decision was made in favor of the filmmaker, who suffered “censorship” of Park Cinema in a Canadian city with a large Algerian community. Facebook.

“In solidarity with Lebanese director Jocelyn Sapp’s films about Palestine, which have been censored by the Parc de Montreal cinema, we, the directors of “The Last Queen”, have decided to withdraw our film from the programs of the same cinema »Written by the directors of the hit film directed by Adela Bendimerad and Damian Onuri.

The directors of The Last Queen of Algiers explained that before making their decision, they had contacted Park Cinema for clarifications on the return of the Lebanese filmmaker’s films.

The directors of The Last Queen of Algiers have condemned the censorship of films about Palestine

“Park Cinema explained to us that hours before the screening of Jocelyn Sapp’s films, apart from an online petition against hosting the event, the cinema had been “attacked” by hundreds of e-mails and “threats”. Their words, different in nature, they cannot speak about it publicly”, They condemned the “highly worrisome, opaque, undemocratic” and “unacceptable” practices. »

Algerian actress and French director says “Shocked by the censorship and arbitrariness that plagues Palestinian cinema, while ethnic cleansing continues in Gaza and the West Bank”.

With the exception of Le Parc Cinema in Montreal, films about Palestine are subject to censorship in Europe. Adela Bendimerat and Damian Onuri cite two cases. Norwegian director Mars Grorud’s film “Vardi” premiered in France “Removed from school programming by Paris Rectorate. Anne-Marie Jasir’s film “Vajib” is the second in Germany to be canceled without explanation by a TV channel. »