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CapeCod 17/09/2010 - 04:07PM

Cinema Politica and Community Association Part Ways Over Censorship

Woods Hole Firehouse Venue

As of Thursday, the documentary film group Cinema Politica has learned that it will not be welcomed back to the Old Woods Hole Firehouse, a publicly-owned building administered by the Woods Hole Community Association.

After three months of mediation, negotiations for the film screenings to return to the Firehouse broke down when the WHCA refused to consider a non-discrimination policy for users of the building.

Cinema Politica had also offered to include a disclaimer on its advertising, absolving the WHCA of any responsibility for the content of the films screened at the Firehouse.

Although Cinema Politica entered into the mediation on good faith, the process failed to establish the group's right to show films without fear of censorship-or pressure to self-censor.

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CapeCod 07/06/2010 - 11:54AM

Woods Hole defends freedom of speech!

For over a year, Cinema Politica-Woods Hole has been in discussions with the Woods Hole Community Association-- the group that rents us the Firehouse-- regarding the "concerns" the WHCA has with films regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

Given the events surrounding the Free Gaza flotilla (and the local connection, due to the presence of a local woman on board one of the ships), we held a screening of "Occupation 101" on June 4. The following is a letter in response to the WHCA co-presidents' email, questioning why they were not warned of the screening in advance.

June 5, 2010

To the Woods Hole Community Association Board of Directors:

As you are aware, we held a screening of "Occupation 101" at the Firehouse on Friday, June 4. It was one of our most well-attended screenings, with people of all ages filling over 50 seats.

We made the decision to screen this film on Tuesday, given the spotlight on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict following the IDF raid on the Free Gaza flotilla on Monday. As is the case with any documentary screening, Cinema Politica tries to tie in its programming with events in the news. We felt that showing this film would provide critical context for why the boats were attempting to break the Gaza blockade in the first place.

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