Monsoon Wedding director Mira Nair boycotts Israel film festival

Ali Abunimah Activism and BDS Beat 19 July 2013

Mira Nair (Wikimedia Commons)

Mira Nair, the internationally-acclaimed director of Salaam Bombay! and Monsoon Wedding, has refused an invitation to take her latest film to Israel, citing the Palestinian call for cultural boycott.

In a series of tweets today, Nair made the following statement:

I was just invited to Israel as a guest of honor at the Haifa International Film Festival with “The Reluctant Fundamentalist.” I will not be going to Israel at this time. I will go to Israel when the walls come down. I will go to Israel when occupation is gone. I will go to Israel when the state does not privilege one religion over another. I will go to Israel when Apartheid is over. I will go to Israel, soon. I stand with the [Palestinian Campaign] for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) and the larger Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) Movement.

Official trailer of The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Mira Nair’s tweets

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Comments

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tabish replied on

Mira can never go to Israel.... if the walls come down, occupation and apartheid gets over that place will be called Palestine.....

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Zarri Hashmi replied on

You made me so proud Mira. I will always be your fan. I just have one little request. The British music band, Skunk Anansie, are playing apartheid israel in August this year. Can you please request them not to play in apartheid israel? Thank you so much xxx

Much love and respect xxx

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Gaelic Neilson replied on

Nair also directed Mississippi Masala, Vanity Fair, Amelia and The Namesake. Currently a musical is being created for Monsoon Wedding. She's an inspiration to many! She says "I am doing Monsoon Wedding on Broadway. That's what I am doing now. We have about seven or eight songs done out of the 11. We also have the book written and we will enter rehearsals in September in New York." If that was not enough, she's also directing a Ugandan film based on the real story of an eight-year-old girl, Phiona Mutesi, from the slums who became one of the finest chess players, taking on the grandmasters.
Now she has taken a public stand for the boycott of Israel. What a super role-model.

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Hitesh replied on

So how many countries she is going to boycott like this?
what about the real hand behind Israel, she wouldn't even dare to talk about it.

Ali Abunimah

Co-founder of The Electronic Intifada and author of The Battle for Justice in Palestine, now out from Haymarket Books.

Also wrote One Country: A Bold-Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse. Opinions are mine alone.