Chennai: Following backlash from various quarters, including political parties and groups, and the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers’ Artists’ Association affiliated to the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Indo Cine Appreciation Foundation (ICAF) has postponed the Israeli Film Festival in Chennai, which was scheduled to be held between 29 and 31 May.
In a post on Facebook Monday evening, ICAF said that the proposed film festival was being postponed “due to certain unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances”.
Earlier in the day, the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers Artists Association had urged the foundation to call off the festival voluntarily.
“The foundation, which organises the Chennai International Film Festival, and other countries’ film festivals with financial support from the Tamil Nadu government, must not equate Israel with other nations by including an Israeli Film Festival in its line-up,” read the statement issued by the group’s state president Mathukur Ramalingam and general secretary Aadhavan Deetchanya.
They said that holding such a film festival in Tamil Nadu is “an act of political insensitivity”.
“At a time when the world condemns the Israeli government for its terrorist actions, including the killing and displacement of Palestinians, holding such a festival in Tamil Nadu, a state with political awareness that upholds the natural rights of Palestinians, is an act of political insensitivity,” the statement added.
The association alleged that the festival indirectly supports the Israeli government’s actions, and legitimises its attempt to be recognised as a normal nation like others.
Additionally, political parties and movements, including Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), May 17 Movement, Tamil National Liberation Movement, and Indian Tawheed Jamaat had released a joint statement, demanding that the event be called off.
“Allowing the Indo Cine Appreciation Foundation to hold an Israeli film festival at the Tamil Nadu Government Music College in Chennai would be seen as indirectly supporting Israel’s human rights violations,” the statement read.
It contradicts Tamil Nadu’s long-standing humanitarian traditions and its cultural identity of standing for justice and supporting the oppressed, the statement added, calling on the state government to take a firm stand in support of the Palestinian people’s struggle against Israel’s “inhumane” actions.
Congress MP Sasikanth Senthil had also urged the Tamil Nadu government to reconsider its decision to host the festival. “With the world watching in anguish as Gaza faces relentless violence, unprecedented civilian casualties, and obstructed humanitarian aid, proceeding with this event could be perceived as a tacit endorsement or at the very least, indifference to the suffering of a besieged population,” he wrote on X.
As someone who deeply believes in the power of art to build bridges and foster understanding, I rarely call for cultural cancellations. But there are moments in history when silence or neutrality risks being complicit. In times of profound human suffering, even symbolic gestures… pic.twitter.com/FfRFxnvTFI
— Sasikanth Senthil (@s_kanth) May 26, 2025
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
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The very same CPI(M) affiliated writers and artists body would be ecstatic to host Pakistani film and music artists. It would have no moral compunctions at all in providing a platform to Pakistani artistes in India. Pakistani artists would, for sure, be feted and celebrated.
And if questions are asked, the response would be – “Art and culture knows no boundaries.”