Tunis – Tunisia has withdrawn from cinemas a new Agatha Christie adaptation starring Israeli actress Gal Gadot, following protests over “normalisation” with the Jewish state, officials said on Wednesday.
British director Kenneth Branagh’s “Death on the Nile”, already banned in Kuwait and Lebanon for the same reason, will no longer be shown in cinemas across the North African country, the ministry’s press office said.
⛴️ 11 suspects, 1 killer twist! #DeathOnTheNile is now playing exclusively in cinemas. pic.twitter.com/3hPS15iCMw
— Agatha Christie (@agathachristie) February 23, 2022
ALSO READ | IMF reports ‘good progress’ after Tunisia bailout talks
Movie theatres had been showing the film since February 9 but, following protests, the ministry and the visual arts authority had agreed to ban it, activists and Tunisian media said.
“The main actress in the film is Israeli, was trained in the (Israeli) army and supports the colonisation of Palestinian territory,” said Kaouther Saida Chebbi, head of an anti-Zionist woman’s movement.
Cinemas in Tunis confirmed to AFP that they would no longer show the film.
Gadot had in 2014 posted on Facebook in support of Israel’s offensive against Gaza.
The war left 2 251 dead on the Palestinian side, the majority of them civilians, and 74 on the Israeli side, most of them soldiers.
ALSO READ | Tunisians fear more economic pain as IMF talks loom
Tunisia, which hosted the Palestinian Liberation Organisation from 1982-1994, has a long history of backing the Palestinian cause.
In 2017 it banned Patty Jenkins’ film “Wonder Woman”, also starring Gadot.
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Source: AFP
Picture: Twitter / @GalGadot
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
