censorship

Lies, Lies, Lies: Cinema Politica defamed in Woods Hole

Dennis, Massachusetts (40 minutes from Woods Hole) resident David MacGuire organizes screenings of Al-Qaeda training videos that help to rally the community against non-Muslims in a vicious orgy of pro-terrorism, hatred and violence.

communication 101

 Dear CP Supporters,

We here at Cinema Politica would like to thank everyone who sent emails and nearly 100 people who signed our petition (** please DO NOT donate any money if you sign!!) over the course of the week.

While the situation is far from simple, we feel we owe you the right to hear the nature of the discussions we've been engaged with over the past year with the WHCA.

Yesterday, we invited Steve Junker, a co-president of the Association, to explain the WHCA's side of the story at tonight's screening of "Sharkwater," but he declined the offer. Instead, he offered to discuss the matter in private with the aid of a hired facilitator.

"The Board feels this is a difficulty we're having with a user, and in order to facilitate discussion we have to sit down in a small, direct conversation. To the Board, this is not a public issue," he said.

We wonder how you, as the "public," feel about that. While we are very interested in resolving the question of our use of the building, we feel that this problem all began because discussions were not open.

Cinema Politica kicked out of screening venue

We're sorry to inform you that the Woods Hole Community Association sent a letter last week informing us that we are not invited to rent the Firehouse during July and August-- and only after a hearing in September will they consider renting to us again.

At issue is our decision to screen five films over the past year and a half regarding the human rights situation in Palestine-- most recently, our June 4 screening of "Occupation 101."

Since last year, we have been hearing that some members of the the WHCA Board of Directors take issue with these documentaries. But in our discussions with the Community Association co-presidents, we have not been able to find out what their concerns are or how our groups could work together to resolve our differences.

We have invited WHCA members to come to the films and take part in discussion-- which we feel would be a first step in relieving tensions, by getting the debate out into the open. As far as we know, nobody who has a problem with these films has attended any screenings; instead, the Board has seen fit to ban us from the Firehouse.

If this update concerns you, there are two things you can do: sign our petition and send emails to the WHCA co-presidents:
Catherine Bumpus at catherinebumpus [at] aol [dot] com
Steve Junker at junker [at] thoughtballoon [dot] org.

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.

Stockholm University attempts to censor feminist film

FROM 07-03-2010 PRESS RELEASE

On the eve of the 100 anniversary of International Women's Day, the Stockholm University administration aims at censoring one of the day's celebration events.

STOCKHOLM, 07-03-2010 - On March 6 Stockholm University's administration destroyed our marketing materials and cancelled our room booking for the screening of Live Nude Girls Unite! Apparently, the action was taken in response to complaints from students, faculty and support staff. Cinema Politica Stockholm and the Stockholm University Student Union were not consulted prior to this action.

This screening, in celebration of the 2010 International Women's Day, is intended to foster debate around the issues of women's empowerment and sexworker’s rights. Our screening of the film—an important and entertaining documentary about the first exotic dancer's union in the United States—and following discussion, as clearly stated in Cinema Politica’s charter is to present alternative perspectives regarding pressing social, political and cultural issues. We feel strongly that Live Nude Girls Unite will help us continue this tradition.

We are disturbed and appalled by this action, as it represents an inexcusable abuse of power, censorship and flagrant disregard of free speech by Stockholm University’s administration. Cinema Politica refuses to take this action lightly. We are forced to take action to continue our efforts to foster free and open debate.