Citizens urge National Film Development Corporation to cancel Israel Film Festival in Mumbai

The group, including actor Naseeruddin Shah and filmmaker Anand Patwardhan, said the event was ‘shamefully being held’ amid Israel’s war on Gaza.

Citizens urge National Film Development Corporation to cancel Israel Film Festival in Mumbai

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A group of citizens on Monday urged the National Film Development Corporation of India to cancel a festival showcasing Israeli films, scheduled to be held in Mumbai on Wednesday and Thursday at the National Museum of Indian Cinema.

“This screening by the NFDC [National Film Development Corporation] is shamefully being held at a time, when the entire world is witness to Israeli war crimes, the ongoing Holocaust and the genocide in Gaza, and across all of Palestine,” the group said in a statement.

The statement’s signatories include actors Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak, freedom fighter GG Parikh, documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan and Tushar Gandhi, the great grandson of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

Israel’s military offensive against Gaza began on October 7 after Palestinian militant group Hamas invaded southern Israel, killing 1,200 persons and taking over 200 hostages. Israel has been carrying out unprecedented air and ground strikes on Gaza. The attacks have killed more than 40,774 persons, including over 15,000 children.

On Monday, the group said that the management of the National Film Development Corporation and the National Museum of Indian Cinema should be aware that the Indian government has recognised the Palestinian state.

“Thus, at this moment in our collective human history, for the NFDC and the NMIC to be screening Israeli films is totally immoral, unethical,...

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