Miami Beach Mayor Wants to Terminate O Cinema’s Lease Over No Other Land

Last week, O Cinema became the first theater in Miami to screen the documentary No Other Land, which profiles the Masafer Yatta community in the occupied West Bank as its homes are demolished to make way for an Israeli military training zone. Given the subject matter, the film has elicited strong reactions, as has O Cinema's decision to screen it.

On Tuesday night, Miami Herald reporter Aaron Leibowitz reported Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner was proposing terminating O Cinema's lease over the theater's screenings of the film.

In an email newsletter that included updates on Miami Beach's Real-Time Intelligence Center, the city's Drone First Responder Pilot Program, and the ongoing dispute over the sheltering of unhoused individuals at the Bikini Hostel, Cafe & Beer Garden, Mayor Meiner explained he'd made the move after O Cinema went ahead with screenings despite his plea for their cancellation: "Miami Beach leases a City-owned theater located on Washington Avenue to O Cinema," he wrote. "That's a good deal for them. It becomes a bad deal when O Cinema decides to air a film that can best be described as a false, one-sided propaganda attack on the Jewish people that is not consistent with the values of our City and residents (I watched the film)."

Mayor Meiner wrote that after he sent a letter requesting the cancellation of screenings on Wednesday, March 5, O Cinema CEO Vivian Marthell responded that the theater would cancel the screenings "due to concerns of antisemitic rhetoric." But the screenings went ahead anyway — the theater even added four new screenings set for next week, when it reopens after a one-week closure to upgrade its screen.

New Times reached out to the mayor and to O Cinema for comment on Mayor Meiner's claims that the theater agreed to withdraw the screenings before changing course. We have not yet received a response from either party.

Meiner's initial letter, sent on Wednesday, March 5, asked Marthell to cancel showings of the film. The Miami Herald obtained and published a copy, written on official letterhead. In the letter, Mayor Meiner criticizes the filmmakers' acceptance speech for Best Documentary Feature Film at the Oscars earlier this month, writing, "The film director's comments at the Oscars prove the antisemitic nature of the film using Jew-hatred propaganda and lies such as 'ethnic cleansing.' Unfortunately, Jews for thousands of years have heard this antisemitic rhetoric; I am just surprised that O Cinema, utilizing Miami Beach taxpayer funding, would willingly disseminate such hateful propaganda."

Though the initial letter did not include any overt threats to cut funding, Meiner mentioned two times that O Cinema, which has announced its expansion into Little River this summer, is located on city-owned property. The Herald noted O Cinema lists the city of Miami Beach as a supporter on its website, and last year, WLRN listed the indie theater as one of several organizations that received a funding boost from the city after Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed $32 million in statewide arts funding.

Despite Meiner's plea, O Cinema went ahead with its initial run of screenings and added four more showings. On Monday, Coral Gables Art Cinema announced in an email newsletter that it, too, would screen No Other Land, starting this Friday, March 14, through next Tuesday, March 18. New Times reached out to Coral Gables Art Cinema for comment on its decision to screen the film. In a statement, Michelle Humphreys, the theater's communications and engagement director, listed some of the accolades the film has earned on the festival circuit. "Film is meant to be discussed," she added, "and the spirit of film fellowship is central to our work — ensuring that Coral Gables Art Cinema is not just a place to watch movies but a space for learning, conversation, and community connection. Our screening of a film is not an implicit endorsement of the subject matter or content." Coral Gables Art Cinema declined to comment on Mayor Meiner's efforts to terminate O Cinema's lease.

Both theaters announced their screenings after No Other Land won the Oscar — the film was released more than a year ago, but filmmakers have had difficulty securing distribution from American studios. Last month the New York Times reported the film, directed by Palestinian filmmakers Basel Adra and Hamdan Ballal alongside Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, had been shown in just 23 U.S. theaters after the filmmakers embarked on a self-distribution campaign.

In an interview with New Times after the initial run was announced, Marthell said No Other Land had been on the indie theater's radar for months.

"We had been in conversation for some time about finding a window in our schedule to make it work," she said. But in a busy season that's included the Miami Jewish Film Festival, the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers, the Sundance Film Festival Shorts, and Oscar screenings, the inherent challenges of operating a single-screen theater start to show.

"There are many films we would love to screen, all vying for the same screen time," she added. "Sometimes, that means we are unable to open a film until later than when it may have been released in other markets."

No Other Land. Directed by Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, and Rachel Szor. 95 minutes. Opens Friday, March 7, at O Cinema South Beach, 1130 Washington Ave., Miami Beach; o-cinema.org. Tickets cost $14. Opens Friday, March 14, at Coral Gables Art Cinema, 260 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables; 786-472-2249; gablescinema.com.