'Chanshi' creator disinvited from Stockholm film festival

Aleeza Chanowitz, the creator of Chanshi, an irreverent series from Hot, is used to shocking people with her work, but she was shocked when the Stockholm International Film Festival disinvited her on Saturday, shortly before she was set to travel. After this became public, they did an about-face of sorts, saying she could come if she paid her own way, but Chanowitz wasn’t having it. 

The festival had chosen to include the first episode of Chanshi, which was produced by Castina Communications, in its Special Presentations section, and at press time was still selling tickets to the November 16 screening on its website. The site describes the series as, “Fast-paced and daring with a big dose of humor... A comical and bold series about daring to cross borders.” But while the show will go on, it will go on without Chanowitz, because, according to the festival organizers, “We have to take a stand.” 

The official reason presented by the festival’s management for the cancelation, less than a week before the screening, is that “The guidelines of the Swedish Foreign Ministry instruct to exercise caution toward flights from Israel” and that “There is a fear that an ‘unpleasant’ situation will arise for Aleeza.”

Chanowitz’s attempts to find a solution, including insisting to the festival organizers that flights are departing as usual from Israel to Europe and vice versa – were met with an unequivocal refusal.

In response to this refusal to allow her to attend, Chanowitz said, “I am surprised by the festival’s cowardice, and it really sucks because I wanted to have a nice time at a cultural event where I could take a break from our scary reality and enjoy and discuss art. I also ‘have had to take a stand.’ I stand with the Jews, Israelis of all kinds, peace with our neighbors, and most of all with the families of the hostages.”

'A capitulation to fear and violence' 

Hot said: “The unfortunate decision to boycott the star and creator of Chanshi is a surrender to fear, a capitulation to fear and violence. We regret that the festival that was supposed to be a home for art and pluralism is being used as an instrument for a murderous terrorist organization that massacred the elderly, children, innocent women and men just because they were Jewish. We call on all participants in the festival to refrain from coming until an official apology is published and they invite everyone to watch the excellent Chanshi.

But instead of an apology, following publication on Sunday of the fact that Chanowitz was disinvited, the festival said she could attend – if she paid her own way. Guests of film festivals normally have their expenses covered such as plane tickets, hotels, and meals. In many years of covering film festivals, I have never heard of any kind of comparable behavior from a festival: that an offer to pay a guest’s expenses was suddenly rescinded. Furthermore, this would make a lie out of the festival management’s excuse that Chanowitz would be in danger at the festival. 

Chanowitz responded with characteristic directness and even a touch of humor: “The festival’s excuse for why they don’t want me to come has changed three times, and it makes me feel like they’re not telling me the truth. I think I won’t go in the end because I don’t feel the most welcome. I also wanted to buy a nice sweater. Instead, I will buy one in Israel and support our economy.”

Chanshi is a comedy-drama that follows the journey of a religious young woman from America (played by Chanowitz) who goes a bit crazy with the sexual freedom she embraces in Israel. It also stars television icon Henry Winkler as her father, Caroline Aaron of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as her mother, along with Tomer Macloof, Oshri Cohen, and Marina Schon. It was directed by Mickey Triest and Aaron Geva. Geva has spoken recently about how 12 of his relatives were under attack on October 7 and how several have been kidnapped by Hamas to Gaza from Kibbutz Be’eri. 

Incident comes after 'River to the sea' sign wins applause

The Stockholm International Film Festival, which is now in full swing, opened with the film, Poor Things, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and starring Emma Stone, and included an event honoring the actor Ethan Hawke. Past guests of the festival include Martin Scorsese, Frances Ford Coppola, Wes Anderson, and Quentin Tarantino.

The news of the cancellation of Chanowitz’s participation comes after a sign reading, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which means that all Jews should be killed or deported from the state of Israel, was raised on the stage at the opening ceremony on November 8 of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), the most prestigious documentary film festival in the world. The sign was greeted by applause from the audience, as well as from the director of the festival, Orwa Nyrabia.

While Nyrabia later issued an apology, members of the Israeli film community did not think it went far enough and signed a strongly worded letter to IDFA, saying that Nyrabia’s applauding the sign indicated that this is “IDFA’s official and reprehensible stance toward Israel and towards Jews.” The letter acknowledged the sufferings of civilians in Gaza and referenced the October 7 massacre and the 240 hostages held by Hamas. The letter goes on to say: “We are at a crucial and critical time in history and words matter – Nyrabia’s muted and pale official response to the event [that] ‘IDFA... distances itself from the slogan stated on the activists’ canvas’ further iterates that he is fully aware of the horrific meaning of this slogan, the hate it mongers and the antisemitism it invokes.”

Signatories to the letter include Hagit Ben Yaakov, the chairwoman of the Israeli Documentary Forum; Pnina Halfon Lang, executive director, CoPro – The Israeli Content Marketing Foundation; Assaf Amir, the chairman of the Israeli Film Academy; Adar Shafran, the chairman of the Israeli Producers Union; and Roni Mahadav-Levin, the director of the Jerusalem Film Festival and the CEO of the Jerusalem Cinematheque. 

The letter concludes with the plea: “We call on the director of IDFA, and on its board of directors to clearly and resoundingly distance themselves, reject and denounce these calls for violence – and withdraw any platform for those who knowingly incite for the annihilation of Israel, instigating violence and giving rise to antisemitic sentiments against Jews everywhere.”