A new documentary made by acclaimed Swedish filmmakers Bo Persson and Joanna Helander is shortly to be screened in the European Parliament. It has already been shown at a successful private screening in the Swedish parliament, at several international film festivals and before selected audiences in the United States and Europe.
Called “Watching the Moon at Night“, the documentary of 90 minutes addresses in a lyrical and insightful way the intertwined issues of terrorism and antisemitism. We previously blogged about it [“13-Jan-15: Terrorism: watching its victims, trying to understand their experiences” and “28-Mar-16: Upcoming premiere screenings (NYC, Washington) of an important documentary on terrorism and antisemitism“]
Inspired by some of the world’s most eminent authorities in these two fields – among them Walter Laqueur, André Glucksmann and Robert S. Wistrich – its distinguishing feature is the sensitive and enlightening role it gives to the voices of the victims. They speak, in apolitical terms, of their awful personal experiences in a variety of places including Algeria, Spain, France, Moscow, Israel, New York, Colombia, Munich, Northern Ireland and elsewhere.
The project began as a co-production of Kino Koszyk HB, Film i Väst (a regional Swedish film fund) and Sveriges Television with important support from the Swedish Film Institute. But Sveriges Television officials have now, shockingly, refused to allow it to be screened on TV in its home country.
Several reports in the mainstream Swedish and Danish media refer to political correctness and to a concern about a backlash (for showing a television documenary!) from certain corners.
Prominent Swedish commentators have called for this awful decision to be reversed. In these fraught and dangerous times, terrorism and antisemitism threaten the institutions of democracy everywhere. Attempting to hide this reality and distorting the public debate is the worst way to confront these threats when we should instead stand up for human rights and European values.
We are joining the call by distinguished Scandinavians and a growing circle of concerned Europeans to require the management of Sveriges Television to reverse its gagging of this important film, and to immediately schedule it for the widest possible television exposure in Sweden. The silencing of this fine film (full disclosure: we play a small role in it) is an outrageous abuse of bureaucratic power, an act of thuggery dictated by unspoken and shameful motivations.
There’s a new petition calling for the film to be shown in Sweden. Please go to the GoPetitions site and sign. And help get the word out. (We have more to say about this, and have been working on a longer piece. Hopefully we will get it out in the next day or two.)
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