South Asian film screenings in Canada targeted with arson, shootings

A movie theater west of Toronto has stopped showing South Asian films after experiencing an arson attack and a shooting within seven days — both incidents authorities believe were deliberate acts targeting the venue.

What happened: Film.ca Cinemas, located in Oakville, Ontario, faced its first attack at around 5:20 a.m. on Sept. 25 when two masked individuals set fire to the building’s front entrance using liquid accelerant in red containers. Hours earlier, video surveillance recorded a gray SUV circling the Speers Road property multiple times before a white SUV appeared ahead of the attack. Firefighters contained the blaze to the exterior doorway.

The theater faced a second attack at 1:50 a.m. on Oct. 2. A different assailant, identified by Halton Regional Police as a heavyset man with dark complexion, fired a handgun nine times into the entrance, shattering glass across four of six doors. No one was injured in either attack.

Safety concerns: The theater’s response shifted between attacks. Following the arson, CEO Jeff Knoll, who is also an Oakville town and regional councilor, declared the cinema would continue programming without interference. “We’re going to play what we want to play, when we want to play it,” he said in a video. However, the shooting changed that stance. Film.ca announced it would cancel screenings of “They Call Him OG,” a Telugu action film that had just finished a sold-out run, and “Kantara: A Legend Chapter 1,” a Kannada epic scheduled to premiere last Thursday.

“Evidence seems to show that the participation in the exhibition of South Asian films has led to these incidents at our theatre and other theatres across the GTA [Greater Toronto Area],” the company said. It added, “We understand that these incidents may be connected to disagreements within the South Asian film industry. While we want to be clear that we do not wish to bow to threats, the situation has escalated to the point where we must take every precaution to protect our community.”

The big picture: The attacks apparently follow a broader pattern. Multiple venues in the GTA and British Columbia have reported similar incidents, including drive-by shootings, at theaters showing South Asian films. Distributors working with South Indian cinema have accused unnamed parties of running a coordinated effort to block certain films from Canadian screens, an alleged strategy to monopolize the market and preserve profit margins.