The Netflix platform faced criticism from human rights groups after it announced the removal of 19 films from the “Palestinian Stories” collection, which was launched in October 2021, due to the expiration of its licenses, while the famous streaming platform denied accusations of deliberately removing the films, stressing that The reason is due to the expiration of specific licensing agreements.
Netflix explained – in a statement reported by the American website “Deadline” – that the collection of 32 films was scheduled to be available for only 3 years, and that most of the films will be removed by the end of this month due to the expiration of licenses.
The platform added that this step comes in the context of usual content licensing practices, pointing to similar examples such as the cessation of showing the series “Friends” in the United States and “Mr. Robot” in some Arab countries.
She added, “The live streaming service still displays titles by Palestinian creators.”
Human rights organizations
For its part, Freedom Forward expressed its concern in a message published on its website, and stated that the “Palestinian Stories” page on Netflix no longer shows only one movie.
She added, “Netflix deleted most of its Palestinian films, without providing a clear explanation, despite widespread protests on social media platforms.”
The expired films included works such as “Giraffada” by director Rani Masala, “Mars at Sunrise” by director Jessica Happé, and “Chronicle of a Disappearance” by director Elia Suleiman. The documentary film “Ibrahim – Indefinitely” directed by Lina Al-Abd is available in the collection.
A group of human rights organizations – including the Arab American Action Network, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), and the National Network of Arab American Communities – issued statements supporting Freedom Forward’s position.
Netflix launched the “Palestinian Stories” collection on October 14, 2021, and included 32 films produced by Palestinian directors or based on Palestinian stories.
The collection included award-winning works, such as “A Man Returned” by director Mahdi Fleifel, “Like 20 Impossibles” by director Anne-Marie Jacir, and “The Crossing” by director Mai Odeh. .