Sunday 8 April 2018, Movie Night: Hannah K. (Costa-Gavras, 1983). 111 minutes. With English subtitles. Door opens at 8pm, film starts at 8:30pm.
Hanna K. is the story of Hanna Kaufman, a child of Holocaust survivors and an American-Jewish immigrant to Israel, who is a court-appointed lawyer assigned to defend a Palestinian, Salim Bakri, accused of terrorism and infiltration.
Pro-Israeli groups were concerned about the film’s sympathetic depiction of the Palestinian issue. An internal memorandum was circulated by a B’nai B’rith advising members about arguments can be made against the film. Hanna K. opened in several American cities and played for a short time to virtually universal negative reviews, and then was abruptly pulled from circulation by the American distributor of the film. Costa Gavras personally advertised the film in The New York Times at a cost of $50,000. Universal forbade him to use ads prepared for the film.
Edward Said said in a Village Voice review that “as a political as well as cinematic intervention, then Hanna K. is a statement of a great and I believe, lasting significance.”
Film night at Joe’s Garage, cozy cinema! Free entrance. You want to play a movie, let us know: joe [at] squat [dot] net
