The chief executive of Israel’s main cinema group has announced that all profits from screening of the new Ken Loach film in Israel will be dedicated to promoting Israeli films throughout the world, as a response to the maverick director’s continuous actions against Israeli filmmakers.
Earlier this year, Mr Loach attacked Israel’s action in Gaza. He said it would be seen as one of the “great crimes of the last decade because of the cold-blooded massacre”. Last month, he was among the high profile figures urging organisers of the Toronto Film Festival to drop a celebration of Tel Aviv.
Yesterday, Nurit Shani, CEO of Lev Cinemas and Films, called Mr Loach “a very little man” and announced that all the profits from the Israel distribution of Mr Loach's latest film, Looking for Eric, and his next film, would be dedicated to promoting Israeli films in Israel and around the world. (Looking for Eric is the story of a dedicated fan of the one-time Manchester United footballer, Eric Cantona, who appears in the film.)
The announcement came just before the Israeli premiere of the film was screened at Haifa International Film Festival.
