Florida mayor attempts to destroy local cinema for screening a 2025 Oscars champion

A mayor in Florida is threatening to evict an independent cinema from city-owned property after it screened the recent Best Documentary Oscar winner, No Other Land. 

The film, which took home the trophy at the star-studded ceremony earlier this month, focuses on Palestinian displacement and the destruction of the occupied West Bank amid the ongoing Israel-Palestine war. Now, the mayor of Miami Beach, Steven Meiner, is attempting to terminate local theater O Cinema’s lease and withdraw $40,000 in promised grant funding, saying in a newsletter to residents that the film is “a false one-sided propaganda attack on the Jewish people that is not consistent with the values of our City.”

Meiner had previously urged the cinema to cancel its scheduled screenings of No Other Land while citing criticism from Israeli officials. While O Cinema CEO Vivian Marthell initially agreed to remove the film from its programming to avoid “concerns of antisemitic rhetoric,” she later reversed her decision, with the screenings of No Other Land promptly selling out. Now, additional dates for more showings of the documentary have been scheduled throughout the rest of this month. “Our decision to screen No Other Land is not a declaration of political alignment,” Marthell told Miami Herald. 

“It is, however, a bold reaffirmation of our fundamental belief that every voice deserves to be heard.” Marthell and Meiner aren’t the only ones to have weighed in on the debacle, with Miami Beach commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez saying she shares the mayor’s negative assessment of the film. Gonzalez did, however, warn against “knee jerk reaction” that could trigger “costly legal battles,” and made note of O Cinema’s “longstanding commitment to the Jewish community.” For his part, Daniel Tilley — the legal director of The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida — called Meiner’s reaction “unconstitutional.”

The mayor of Miami Beach is trying to end a lease agreement for an independent film theater after it screened Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land.

Disgusting work. https://t.co/UC7vTfCR5h pic.twitter.com/7PPai1vm7V

— Briahna Joy Gray (@briebriejoy) March 13, 2025

“The government does not get to pick and choose which viewpoints the public is allowed to hear, however controversial some might find them,” Tilley told Axios. It marks the most recent instance of controversy surrounding artistic expression in Miami Beach. Back in 2019, the city removed a portrait of Raymond Herisse — a Black man fatally shot by Beach police — from a city art project, sparking outrage among locals who deemed it wrongful censorship. 

No Other Land was a surprise win for Best Documentary at this year’s Academy Awards, since the film struggled to secure U.S. distribution due to political sensitivities surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Following its win, social media users noted the divisive response of some Oscars attendees, before its co-director used his acceptance speech to criticize the U.S.’ foreign policies. 

“No Other Land” director Basel Adra: “We call on the world to take serious actions to stop the injustice and to stop the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people.” | #Oscars pic.twitter.com/NzoqLKiBSJ

— Variety (@Variety) March 3, 2025

“There is a political solution without ethnic supremacy,” Yuval Abraham said, “but the foreign policy in this country is helping to block this path.” It comes amid an already tumultuous period for the warring nations, as President Donald Trump last month proposed plans to “take over” the Gaza strip, and shared an AI-generated video of his “vision” for the war-torn regions. Meiner’s proposal to cancel O Cinema’s lease is set for a commission vote next Wednesday.