NEW YORK: A film by an Israeli filmmaker was pulled from an Oslo film festival on Thursday because it dealt with Israeli subject matter, but did not address the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the sufferings inflicted by Israel.

In an apologetic email received on Aug 10 a filmmaker in Tel Aviv, Roy Zafrani, learned that his short documentary, “The Other Dreamers”, had been rejected by the Human Rights Human Wrongs festival, which focuses on political documentaries, the New York Times reported.

“We support the academic and cultural boycott of Israel,” wrote Ketil Magnussen, founder of the festival’s parent organisation, the Oslo Documentary Cinema. He added that unless Mr. Zafrani’s films were about the illegal occupation, the blockade of Gaza or discrimination against Palestinians they would not be shown, it was reported.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2015

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