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Monday, July 08, 2013

A sloppy BBC headline


Doesn't this sound like Israel is banning the movie?

You have to read the story to see what it means:

There is no shortage of coming attractions in the cinemas of Lebanon this summer. And there is something for everyone.

In the cool, dark, air-conditioned multiplexes of Beirut and beyond you will find posters advertising the super-hero status of The Wolverine alongside displays announcing the return of the Smurfs.

But there is one movie which is not coming soon - and is probably not coming at all.

There is to be no red-carpet, hometown premiere for the Lebanese director Ziad Doueiri's new offering The Attack - a tense and gripping drama set in the aftermath of a suicide bombing in Israel.

That is because the film was partly shot in Israel, with Israeli actors speaking in Hebrew and Arab actors in Arabic.

It gives the acting a gritty, authentic feel - and it also makes it a flagrant breach of a Lebanese law passed in 1955 which bans all contact with Israel and Israelis.
More about BBC coverage of this movie and its seeming embrace of the idea of Arab censorship was in the last  linkdump.

(h/t Simon K)