Two open letters signed by filmmakers including Justine Triet, Jacques Audiard and Natalie Portman denounce the removal of Nadav Lapid from the FID Marseille festival. The Golden Bear winner ultimately withdrew following pressure.
The FID Marseille festival removed Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid, 51, who has lived in France since 2021, following calls for his disinvitation. A dozen filmmakers had threatened to pull their films in protest of his presence. Signatories of the open letters describe the decision as an “intellectual bankruptcy” and a simplistic “mechanism of disqualification.” Morgan Pokée, co-author of a letter published in Le Monde, noted that messages of support continue to arrive. Lapid had first left the jury to limit his role to a discussion of his film The Policeman before withdrawing entirely. The Marseille city hall has not yet commented.
