Update: Chaz Ebert confirms Ebertfest’s decisions had nothing to do with my no-platforming in Urbana and Beligium, and they were unaware of any controversy.
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Ebertfest (Roger Ebert’s Film Festival) is the big film festival in my town (Champaign-Urbana, Illinois). In October, its director told 2 film critics/scholars I know that my new feature film Seder-Masochism was “at the top of our list.” Which makes sense, since it’s by an Urbana filmmaker (me) whose last film was a star at the festival (Sita Sings the Blues) and contains my late father’s voice, which is known to much of the fest’s audience (he used to be Mayor of Urbana, as well as a math professor at the U of I). I emailed Ebertfest in January to ask if they were going to screen it, because I have to make plans in April. They didn’t reply. I emailed them again over a week later (Friday). “Sorry, we don’t have room for it.”
A week earlier Seder-Masochism was the target of a de-platforming campaign in Belgium. The women’s film festival that programmed its Belgian premiere removed all traces of it from their web site after transactivists threatened them. A few days before that, I was the target of a Twitter mob for sharing opinions with Graham Linehan.
Ebertfest’s decisions are made behind closed doors, and I’m certainly not entitled to be at any film festival. But it is my opinion that their decision is very much related to my defamation and condemnation as a “TERF“. Much of the witch-hunt against gender-critical feminists comes from Academia, and Ebertfest is an extension of the University of Illinois College of Media. Last Fall the self-described “Chair of Gender Studies” Mimi Nguyen led a campaign against me to have my film de-platformed at a local cafe.
I am blacklisted, but I will not shut up.
Thank you for your courage. I love your films.
Their loss.
This is sad.
I wonder what is the correct way to counter this organised (and unfortunately very efficient) blacklisting.
When a person’s worldview and social position depends on a denial of basic biologic reality, they go nuclear over people who point out biologic/scientific reality.
Thank you for your service!
This is utter madness. Seder Masochism is sublime, and I hope it gets the exposure it deserves. You have my utmost admiration for maintaining your principles in the face of this misogynistic, oppressive, anti-scientific bullshit movement.
Nina can’t you launch a Crowdfunder to show the movie as a Fringe to the main Film Festival? It is so brilliant!
With your permission I am going to ask women in Scotland if we could show it as part of our activism to counter this insane Gender Identity nonsense. Would you mind?
Oh, dear Nina… There are two “social genders” in history. The first is a “sincere seeker of truth”. The second – “brainless seeker of ruling hand or principle”. So, if you belong to the first, you must be already aware of the second.
I’m so terribly sorry that these mean people are doing this to you. I watched “Seder” in absolute amazement and was truly inspired by it. You have people pulling for you, so don’t give up!
I especially like the explaining away science bit. [I’m not a scientist, but I’m part of a field in which a scientist once participated, therefore I have the academic authority to invalidate all science]
You are my hero.
I think your views on trans issues, as well as feminism in general, are deeply wrong and verging on paranoid; however, deplatforming you merely for holding an opposing view is beyound the pale. I’d side with you and against these rabid SJWs any day, today included.
Also… “Science studies” ? Really ? What do you do in “science studies”, sit around all day eating bon-bons and watching actual scientists do actually useful work ? Yeesh.
😿
Just imagine what they’d do if they realized you’re Jewish, too.