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Ken Loach and Mike Leigh resign as patrons of London cinema over Israeli film festival screening

Loach said it was ‘simply unacceptable’ that the cinema goes ahead with a screening of documentary about Hamas’s 7 October attack

Ken Loach and Mike Leigh have resigned as patrons of the Phoenix cinema in London in protest over the venue hosting an Israeli state-sponsored film festival. “The board’s conclusion is that for all private hires, including this one, the Phoenix should not aim to censor or veto the content of screenings, provided they are legal and, in this instance, unless we are advised by the police that it would unsafe to proceed.” But the Artists for Palestine UK network said Seret was “part of a broader art-washing strategy” by the Israeli state to “whitewash and cover up its crimes against the Palestinian people”.

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