Nadav Lapid, an Israeli screenwriter and director, reopened the discussion on Vivek Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files on Monday by labelling it vulgar and propaganda. The jury was disturbed and shocked by the movie, according to Lapid, who spoke at the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) closing ceremony, and they found it unacceptable for an artistic competitive part of such a prominent film festival.
We were all surprised and horrified by the fifteenth movie, The Kashmir Files. That seemed like a crass, propagandist film that had no place in the artistic competition of such a prominent film festival.
The National Film Development Corporation of India, which is part of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and the Goa government jointly organised the Indian Panorama Section of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), which included a screening of The Kashmir Files on November 22. Many took Lapid’s remark as an embarrassment for the government because The Kashmir Files had received a roaring endorsement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March of this year, as the speech’s video clip instantly went viral on social media.
On social media, Lapid’s speech garnered both scathing criticism and applause.
Who is Nadav Lapid?
Nadav Lapid, an Israeli screenwriter born in Tel Aviv, is best known for his work in Synonymes (2019), The Kindergarten Teacher (2014), and Policeman (2011). The director has served as a jury member for the Golden Leopard award at the Locarno Film Festival in 2015, the International Critics’ Week jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016, and the jury for the Official Competition at the 71st Berlin International Film Festival in 2021.
The Israeli filmmaker’s 47-year-old love-hate connection with his own country was on display in Ahed’s Knee, which he submitted for competition at the Cannes Film Festival the previous year.
Lapid also signed an open letter against the establishment of the Shomron (Samaria/West Bank) Film Fund together with 250 other Israeli filmmakers. According to the filmmakers, the Fund’s sole objective was to get Israeli filmmakers to actively assist in whitewashing the Occupation in exchange for financial support and rewards.
The official mission of the Shomron Film Fund is to distribute funds to Israeli citizens who produce films in the West Bank and to Jewish settlers who live in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria).
In one of his interviews, Lapid had remarked that the Israeli collective spirit is a sick soul when discussing his movie Synonymes.