The Glastonbury Festival said it stands “against all forms of discrimination” after cancelling a screening of a “conspiracy theory” film about former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. The festival said although it believed the film had been booked “in good faith”, it had decided that it was not appropriate to screen.
It comes after the Board of Deputies of British Jews (BDBJ) expressed “deep concern” over the film, titled Oh, Jeremy Corbyn: The Big Lie, which was produced by Platform Films. It was due to be shown on June 25 at Glastonbury’s Pilton Palais cinema and described, according to the BDBJ, as “the banned Corbyn documentary”.
A statement attributed to Glastonbury said: “Although we believe that the Pilton Palais booked this film in good faith, in the hope of provoking political debate, it’s become clear that it is not appropriate for us to screen it at the festival. “Glastonbury is about unity and not division, and we stand against all forms of discrimination.”
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The response comes after Marie van der Zyl, president of Jewish communal organisation the Board of Deputies, said it would be “profoundly sinister” to have such a film platformed at the festival. In a letter to Glastonbury organisers Michael and Emily Eavis, Ms Van der Zyl expressed her “deep concern”.
“This film, we understand, seeks to suggest that organisations such as the Board of Deputies of British Jews, of which I am the president, somehow helped to ‘orchestrate’ Jeremy Corbyn’s downfall as Labour Party leader,” Ms van der Zyl wrote. Adding that the reported decision to show the film was “worrying” her letter continued: “Your festival is one of the most successful festivals in the UK.
“It seems profoundly sinister for it to be providing a platform to a film which clearly seeks to indoctrinate people into believing a conspiracy theory effectively aimed at Jewish organisations. “We would request that you not allow your festival to be hijacked by those seeking to promote hatred with no basis in fact, in the same way as we would hope that your festival would not screen films seeking to promote other conspiracy theories, such as anti-vaccination, 9/11 truthers or chemtrails.”
The BDBJ later said it was pleased the film would no longer be shown at the festival. “We are pleased that in the wake of a letter we sent earlier today, @glastonbury have announced the cancellation of the screening of this film,” the organisation wrote on Twitter.
“Hateful conspiracy theories should have no place in our society.” Platform Films has been approached for comment.
