Malmö cancels Jewish film festival after every cinema refuses to participate

A Jewish film festival in Malmö, Sweden, has been called off because not a single cinema in the city is prepared to participate. The Jewish International Film Festival had been planning on running the four-day event to celebrate 250 years of Jewish life in the country. But organisers told Sweden’s national broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT) that the event had been “stonewalled by all commercial and art-house cinemas in the city”. One said: “A couple of them refer to security concerns. They are worried that something might happen. I don’t understand what security threat there could be with showing Jewish films.” One of the organisers, Sofia Nerbrand, said that police had even offered to stand guard outside whatever cinema held the screenings. She posted on X: “The Jewish film festival that we planned in Malmö must now be cancelled because no cinema dares to rent out its premises… It is outrageous if Sweden cannot protect cinemagoers who are interested in Jewish film." Sweden’s culture minister, Parisa Liljestrand, said: “That one of our national minorities feels so vulnerable, and that organisers believe they cannot arrange events and cultural activities with Jewish content, is an absolute disaster for society." And Liberal Party leader, Simona Mohamsson, added: “If we are serious about Jews feeling safe in Sweden, we must put an end to the culture where vulnerable people are expected to step aside for their attackers. Those who praise terrorism and persecute Jews have no place in our country.” There are at least five cinemas in Malmö, one of which is operated by Sweden’s largest cinema chain, Filmstaden. It said in a statement that it had refused over "safety concerns". “Our priority is always to ensure a safe and positive experience for both our guests and employees,” it said. Theatre Folkets Hus was reported by Euronews to have also refused over safety concerns. Another operator, Panora, said that its refusal was not over safety concerns but because it did not have space in its schedule. Last year, when Israel’s representative in the Eurovision Song Contest, Eden Golan, arrived in the city, Shin Bet had to advise her not to leave her hotel room other than for performances because of an expected wave of pro-Palestinian protests. Malmö has a history as a hostile environment for Jews. In 2010 human rights group the Simon Wiesenthal Centre (SWC) issued a warning that Jews travelling to the city should take extreme precautions. There were arson attacks on the city’s Jewish chapel in 2009 and 2017.

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