They already have a Jewish Toronto Film Festival (separate event)
which makes it odd they needed to co-op the Toronto Film Festival into
their propaganda machine.
Toronto International Film Festival -Tel Aviv Controversy Sparks
Conspiracy Theories
ETIFFvery year as the Toronto International Film Festival inches
towards opening, the buzz around TIFF usually concerns matters far
more trivial than the current killjoy controversy surrounding the
festival. Over the years, the festival has become more of a breeding
ground for wanton partiers and star-stalkers than as a hot bed for
pseudo-intellectuals to line up (a la Annie Hall) for the latest art
film. But in the last two-weeks, TIFF has shown itself to be, if
nothing else, smack dab in the center of the art world, with all of
its corruption, patronage, backstabbing, disagreements, and, yes,
politics.
If you have been at all following the story involving Cameron Bailey's
controversial programming of Tel Aviv as the focus of City-to-City,
you are probably aware of the two viewpoints: 1. That TIFF is taking
part in the "Brand Israel" campaign to help eradicate the global
discontent sparked by Israel's violent tactics on Palestine and 2.
That TIFF is just doing what a Film Festival does: showing movies.
Cameron Bailey, who is an anti-apartheid, politically correct (almost
to a boring fault) Toronto artist maintains he was "attracted to Tel
Aviv as [City to City's] inaugural city because the films being made
there explore and critique the city from many different perspectives."
Believe it or not, Bailey's defense does not seem too off base. Since,
according to a noted Toronto-based film producer, "TIFF has always
been a great place for dialogue. I'm not sure why protest has to come
into play…it seems counter-productive…Art is controversial and is
meant to start conversations...I think that's what Bailey and the
whole TIFForganization were up to. When I started getting pro-
Palestinian petition emails, I just took myself off the list."
One nonpartisan-er is renowned filmmaker Guy Maddin who is debuting
his short film Night Mayor at this year's festival. Maddin states, "I
didn't sign the petition because frankly I was confused by both sides.
I couldn't imagine a more politically correct guy than Cameron Bailey
and all of a sudden I was on the opposite side of a debate from him...
I respect radicals, but I'm not one. I've never been a big fan of
boycotts and I didn't want to have to qualify anything that I said
with a statement I've heard far too often lately: 'I'm not anti-
Semitic…but'…So I didn't sign." As far as TIFF's relationship with
Israel goes, Maddin feels that left-wingers should really be
questioning Tiff's conviviality with Hollywood, aptly he states, "Is
there a more heinous government in the world than America?"
Maddin's sentiments aside, some of the protesters have far more
radical viewpoints than even protest-instigator John Greyson himself.
One such prominent Canadian filmmaker, who was among the 200 people to
sign the petition, believes there is a whole other layer to the
controversy that involves TIFF's need for money. According to the
Canadian director, The Bell Lightbox, slated to be ready to go by next
year's TIFF, has been largely funded by Toronto's prosperous Jewish
community and can't get built without a little more help. Whether the
controversy has been built on "strategy, luck, or happenstance," this
filmmaker – who shall remain undisclosed– believes TIFF is going to
win-out in the end by sticking by the City to City's original
programming. "The Jewish community will view TIFF's decision to stand
their ground as pro-Israel and help buttress the completion of the
Bell Lightbox Project."
But the undisclosed filmmaker doesn't think TIFF is the only winner at
the end of all this controversy: "Greyson wins because he has received
about a trillion times more publicity than he would have had his own
his film played…and the audience wins because they never have to see
Greyson's film.
*Since this article was written Guy Maddin inexplicably signed the
petition.
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