Jewish Rapper and Comedian Kosha Dillz Says His Film’s Canceled Screening Has Been Reinstated

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A Chicago movie theater, which had abruptly canceled a showing of a pro-Israel comedian’s documentary at the eleventh hour, has decided to reinstate the screening according to the comedian’s statement made on Friday.

As a passionate fan, I’m excited to share that Kosha Dillz, an amazing Israeli-American rapper and comedian known as Rami Even-Esh, announced that the movie “Bring The Family Home” will be shown at the Facets theater. Initially, there was some controversy surrounding this decision, with press attention and calls from Jewish groups expressing their concerns. However, after careful consideration, the management at Facets agreed to reconsider, as shared by Kosha Dillz himself.

Wow, this is amazing. I was close to tears during the Zoom meeting,” the rapper said to The Hollywood Reporter. A new viewing will be scheduled within the coming weeks.

The rapper told The Hollywood Reporter that they were almost moved to tears during the Zoom call. A fresh screening has been planned for the upcoming weeks.

In an unexpected turn of events, Facets, a well-known arthouse cinema situated in Lincoln Park, Chicago, called off a screening scheduled for Tuesday at the last minute. The movie, which was supposed to be screened by Dillz, along with Michael Kaminsky, a DePaul University student, was intended to follow an incident where Kaminsky was allegedly assaulted and verbally abused with antisemitic remarks on campus after expressing pro-Israel opinions that were later classified as a hate crime by police. However, due to the objections raised by groups like the American Jewish Committee in Chicago and the relatively new Chicago Jewish Alliance against Facets’ decision, Dillz ultimately displayed the film at a theater located in suburban Wilmette instead.

Dillz refers to this as exclusion – it’s essentially refusing to do business with Jews, a form of antisemitism that we encounter today. Speaking from Northern California where he had several performance dates and shot footage at Cal on Friday, Dillz explained. He was ready to pay the rental fee for doing business with Facets, but they refused. Even offering to screen the film without any publicity to minimize attention, Dillz said, was rejected by the leadership at Facets.

However, by Friday, it seemed as though the theater had changed its stance. In hindsight, they acknowledged that their initial response was excessive and did not align with their purpose, as stated in a message shared on Dillz’s Instagram.

Despite the theater claiming security reasons, their first Instagram post about the cancellation seemed a bit ambiguous.

After examining Kosha Dillz’s public statements and considering the context of the situation, Facets decided it wasn’t consistent with our core values or our duty to ensure community safety and well-being. Although we didn’t provide specific details, we want to clarify that we strongly oppose antisemitism, as well as Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian racism, and any form of hate speech that dehumanizes people.

An official from the theater did not immediately reply to a request for comment Friday.

The documentary, a work-in-progress lasting an hour, features Dillz visiting different university protests, including DePaul University in Chicago and Chapman University in Orange County. In these situations, he attempts to interact playfully with pro-Palestine demonstrators, frequently acting as a supporting character to their straight man. At times, his actions are met with hostility, but he admits that they can come across as mischievous.

The rapper says he will now shoot the ending to the movie at the rescheduled Facets screening.

Previously, Dillz gained popularity for his cheerful Hanukkah song he performed alongside rapper Nisim Black in the streets of New York during 2021. Additionally, he’s collaborated with renowned artists such as The RZA and others.

During the interview, Dillz expressed that his intention was to demonstrate how individuals from different perspectives in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict seldom communicate. He further explained that the cancellation of our screening served as evidence for this observation. In a sense, he found it ironic and commented, “It’s all so layered.

This spring, there’s been a lot of buzz around movies that take sides in the Israel-Palestine conflict, such as “No Other Land” and “October 8.” Both films have been successful at the box office, but not necessarily with the same audience. Facets Cinematheque has been screening “No Other Land.

Amidst a tense political climate, the choice of films to show has also become a contentious issue. Notably, no major streaming platform or cinema distributor opted for No Other Land, and Cinemark chose not to screen October 8.

As a dedicated fan, I echo Dillz’s sentiment that the Facets decision, though small in scale, manages to slice through some of the deep-rooted polarization we’ve been grappling with.

He replied that it had a positive outcome when asked for his perspective. However, he acknowledged there will be ongoing calls for protest, as some people may not agree. He expresses a desire for everyone to watch ‘No Other Land’, his film. He emphasizes the importance of listening more to each other.

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2025-05-17 05:24