TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — A group of protesters met outside The Loft Cinema Wednesday night with signs and Palestinian flags in hand.
The group was protesting The Loft’s showing of “October 8,” a film that’s website says “offers a look at the explosion of antisemitism on college campuses, social media and in the streets of America beginning the day after the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas.”
An online flier for the protest said “contrary to the film’s narrative, criticizing Israel and its decision to indiscriminately murder, wound and displace Palestinians is not anti-semitic. Many Jews believe that it is our duty to stand up for those murdered in our name.”
In April, The Loft showed “The Encampments,” a film produced by American rapper Macklemore that, according to the film’s websi†e, “offers an urgent, intimate portrait of America’s student movement, ignited at Columbia University as students protested their universities’ ties to the war on Gaza.
That showing also drew a small crowd of demonstrators.
On their Instagram account on Thursday, the Loft Cinema issued a statement:
We’ve heard the responses to our screening of October 8, and we want to take a moment to speak directly to them. We understand that this film evokes strong emotions. October 8 confronts a moment that continues to shape global discourse, and we believe it’s important to create space for difficult, even uncomfortable conversations-especially when they reflect the complexity of the world we live in. Presenting a film is not the same as endorsing every perspective it contains. Our role as a cultural space is to challenge, not to comfort; to provoke thought, not dictate conclusions. We respect that viewers may disagree with the film or with our choice to screen it. But we remain committed to showing work that asks hard questions and reflects diverse, sometimes conflicting realities.
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