Festival Canceled; Anti-Semitism Cited

The first Jewish film festival in the Soviet Union, scheduled to begin this weekend in Moscow, has been effectively canceled, sparking charges of anti-Semitism by its U.S. backers.

Local officials sent a letter dated March 1 to the festival’s Moscow-based sponsor, the American Soviet Film Initiative, requesting the festival be delayed.

And this week when organizers from San Francisco arrived in Moscow, they were told that three theaters where 30 films were to be shown are no longer available.

“There is a lot of fear and certainly anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union, and we believe this was the reason for the change in their decision,” said Deborah Kaufman, the festival director.

But Vladimir Plashansky, director of Moscow Film Distribution, a group funded by the Moscow City Council, said a lack of funds in the city budget forced local authorities to change their minds.

Kaufman said the event’s American sponsor, the Jewish Film Festival of San Francisco, raised about $250,000 for the event. It was not clear how much money was to be contributed by the city of Moscow.