LONDON: British film directors Ken Loach and Mike Leigh have pulled out as patrons of London’s Phoenix Cinema in objection to the hosting of an Israeli film festival, The Guardian reported on Thursday.
One of the UK’s oldest movie theaters, Phoenix is set to host a special screening of “Supernova: The Music Festival Massacre” on Thursday as part of the Israeli Seret film festival.
Loach and Leigh independently confirmed their resignations as patrons of Phoenix over the airing of the documentary.
Directed by Yossi Bloch, Duki Dror and Noam Pinchas, “Supernova: The Music Festival Massacre” tells the story of the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on the Nova festival in Re’im through the eyes of survivors.
An unidentified number of staff and managers from Phoenix, along with pro-Palestine solidarity groups, have demanded that the movie theater’s management avoid airing the film, over the Seret festival’s links to the Israeli Embassy in London and Culture Ministry.
Demonstrations and counter-protests are expected to take place later this evening in front of the Phoenix Cinema. On Thursday morning, the site was reported to have been sprayed with red graffiti saying: “Say no to artwashing.”
In 2015, dozens of artists and movie directors, including Loach and Leigh, had addressed a letter to The Guardian calling for a boycott of the Seret film festival.
“By benefiting from money from the Israeli state, the cinemas become silent accomplices to the violence inflicted on the Palestinian people. The festival is co-sponsored by the Israeli government via the Israeli Embassy in London, creating a direct link between these cinemas, the festival screenings and Israeli policies,” said the letter.
Loach told The Guardian after resigning: “My resignation as a patron of the Phoenix shows what I think of their decision. It is simply unacceptable.”
In a response to the Guardian, the cinema’s trustees acknowledged the disagreement from “two of our patrons” and said that the board had discussed the hiring of the venue again.
“The board’s conclusion is that for all private hires, including this one, the Phoenix should not aim to censor or veto the content of screenings, provided they are legal and, in this instance, unless we are advised by the police that it would be unsafe to proceed,” a statement said.
The trustees said they made the decision “with an awareness of our status as a charity committed to education through the arts.
“We appreciate that some do not agree with our decision. Despite this, we hope that most people will remain committed to our vision of a vibrant, sustainable and independent cinema in East Finchley for our local community and for London.”
Picturehouse and Curzon, other UK cinema chains, had canceled all Seret screenings over safety concerns.
British directors resign as patrons of London cinema over Israeli film screening
https://arab.news/cc2gx
British directors resign as patrons of London cinema over Israeli film screening
- Ken Loach, Mike Leigh protest Seret film festival’s links to Israeli Culture Ministry
- ‘Supernova: The Music Festival Massacre’ covers Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack
Living Pyramid to bloom beyond Desert X AlUla
ALULA: Desert X AlUla officially closed on Feb. 28, but one of its most striking installations — the Living Pyramid —will continue to flourish.
Tucked away within a lush oasis surrounded by ancient rock formations, Agnes Denes’ creation fuses art and nature, offering a living testament to resilience and connection.
Through her current rendition of The Living Pyramid for Desert X AlUla 2026, Denes seeks connection, likening it to bees constructing a new hive after disaster.
The pyramid structure is teeming with indigenous plants, forming layered patterns that echo the surrounding desert landscape.
It blends harmoniously with the rocky backdrop while proudly standing apart.
“There is no specific order for the plants other than not to place larger plants on the very top of the pyramid and increase the number of smaller plants up there,” Iwona Blazwick, lead curator at Wadi AlFann in AlUla, told Arab News.
Native plants cascading down the pyramid include Aerva javanica, Leptadenia pyrotechnica, Lycium shawii, Moringa peregrina, Panicum turgidum, Pennisetum divisum, Periploca aphylla and Retama raetam.
Aromatic and flowering species such as Thymbra nabateorum, Rhanterium epapposum, wild mint, wild thyme, Portulaca oleracea, tamarisk shrubs, Achillea fragrantissima, Lavandula pubescens, Salvia rosmarinus, and Ruta graveolens form distinct layers, adding color, texture and subtle fragrance to the pyramid.
“Each Living Pyramid is different. The environment is different, the people are different. I’m very interested in the different societies that come together on something so simple,” Denes said in a statement.
“Connection is what’s important; connection is what the world needs. I keep comparing us to a lost beehive or an anthill. And I wrote a little poem: This. And this is. Bee cries out. Abandon the hive. Abandon the hive,” she said.
Denes was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1931 and is now based in New York. While the 95-year-old has not made it physically to the site in Saudi Arabia, she designed this structure to cater to the native plants of the area.
Her Living Pyramid series has certainly taken on reincarnations over the past decade.
It debuted at Socrates Sculpture Park in New York in 2015, was recreated in Germany in 2017, appeared in Türkiye in 2022, and then London in 2023.
In 2025, she showcased a version at Desert X 2025 in Palm Springs, California, and Luxembourg City.
Most recently, in 2026, at Desert X AlUla.
While officially part of Desert X AlUla, the Living Pyramid stands apart and is housed separately, a short drive away from the other art works.
“The (Living Pyramid) artwork will stay for around a year, to showcase a full year’s effect on the plants throughout the different seasons,” Blazwick said.
After the year is up, it won’t go down. The plants will continue its metamorphosis beyond the pyramid.
“The plants will be replanted and will have a new home within an environment that will suit their needs,” Blazwick concluded.
