The fate of O Cinema in South Beach will be debated next week after the mayor of Miami Beach proposed canceling the rental of the venue – which is in a city-owned building – following the establishment’s screening of the Oscar-winning documentary about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The reaction of Mayor Steven Meiner to the screening of “No Other Land,” which some argue is a violation of the First Amendment, or Freedom of Speech, is the latest episode of its kind in Miami Beach, where leaders have been accused of silencing pro-Palestinian voices.
The co-founder and board president of O Cinema, Kareem Tabsch, told Axios that the nonprofit organization is willing to “take all necessary measures” to remain in South Beach.
“We hope to engage in a thoughtful conversation with our mayor and elected officials,” he told Axios.
The Israeli director of ‘No Other Land’ criticized the mayor’s efforts to evict the cinema, stating: “Banning a film only makes people more determined to watch it.”
This is not the first time the city has suppressed artistic expression it disagrees with.
In 2019, the city removed a portrait of Raymond Herissee, a Black man who was shot and killed by police in 2011, from a city art project.
The city, which was sued by the ACLU of Florida on free speech grounds, prevailed after an appeals court ruled that the city owned the art and managed the exhibition and therefore had control over its content.
The Coral Gables Art Cinema — which is also located in a government-owned building — announced it will screen the documentary this weekend. The cinema told Axios that its screening “is not an implicit endorsement of the subject or content.”
Source: Axios and The Guardian