Backstage at the 97th Academy Awards, Basel Aero, Rachel Szar, Hamdan Ball, and Yuval Abraham from “No Other Land” celebrate their Oscar win for best documentary feature. | PAT BENIC/UPI/NewscomThe mayor of Miami Beach, Florida, is making efforts to end the lease of a movie theater that planned to show “No Other Land,” an Oscar-winning documentary on the Israel-Palestine conflict.According to the Miami Herald, Mayor Steven Meiner is pushing to terminate the lease of O Cinema, an independent film theater that operates on city property, and to cancel over $60,000 in grant funding. This action follows Meiner’s attempts to pressure the theater into canceling the documentary screening.Florida civil rights groups and experts on the First Amendment argue that any government retaliation against the theater for its choice of film content would violate the First Amendment. “In simple terms, the First Amendment prohibits the government from discriminating based on viewpoint or punishing individuals for their speech,” explains Daniel Tilley, legal director of the ACLU of Florida. “Pulling funding from a community-based cinema in this manner is clearly unconstitutional. The government cannot dictate which viewpoints the public is allowed to hear, no matter how controversial they may be.”The Miami Beach mayor’s office has not yet responded to requests for comment. However, in a recent newsletter to residents, Meiner asserted, “I strongly support free speech. Nonetheless, promoting hate and spreading antisemitism in a facility owned by Miami Beach taxpayers, after O Cinema acknowledged ‘concerns of antisemitic rhetoric,’ goes against the values of our city and residents and should not be accepted.”On March 5, Meiner sent a letter to O Cinema expressing his displeasure over the screening of the film, which depicts the destruction of Palestinian homes in the West Bank. “In Miami Beach, we have a firm stance in supporting Israel in its efforts to protect itself and its citizens from terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah,” the letter stated. “Showing performances of the one-sided, inaccurate film ‘No Other Land’ at a city-owned theater run by O Cinema is disappointing.”Critics view this as government intimidation—a move to pressure the theater into self-censorship.O Cinema initially complied. “Due to concerns regarding antisemitic content, we have decided to remove the film from our lineup,” wrote O Cinema CEO Vivian Marthell in a letter to Meiner. “The film has caused a division that prevents us from fulfilling our mission of facilitating insightful discussions about cinema.”However, the theater later changed course and informed the Miami Herald that it would proceed with the screenings.”Our decision to show NO OTHER LAND does not indicate political alignment,” Marthell told the Miami Herald. “It is a firm reiteration of our core belief that every voice should be heard, even when it challenges us.”The outcome of this situation
Miami Beach commissioners will vote on the resolution, with some expressing concerns about the legal risks involved. Miami Beach Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez emphasized O Cinema’s strong ties to the Jewish community, highlighting their history of screening Jewish films and hosting Holocaust events with the Miami Jewish Film Festival since 2014. She warned against hasty actions that could result in costly legal battles and waste taxpayer money. While no legal action has been taken in response to the situation, the Florida ACLU is actively monitoring the issue to ensure diverse voices in Miami Beach can still be heard. Following media coverage of the film controversy, the theater experienced a surge in ticket sales and added additional screening dates in March. The film “No Other Land” won an Oscar and the incident involving Miami Beach’s Mayor and the movie theater was detailed in a post on Reason.com.
