MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Filmmakers and creatives are speaking out against a controversial proposal by the Miami Beach mayor that placed a South Florida theater in the middle of controversy.

O Cinema theater officials raised their voice Tuesday to discuss the future of the film as well as concerns raised by Meiner’s proposal.

“We’re here today to make one thing really clear,” said Vivian Marthell, co-founder and CEO of O Cinema. “O Cinema will not be silenced, and neither will our community. This is about more than just a film; it is about the fundamental right to free expression, artistic integrity, and the role of independent cinemas in our community.”

Marthell called the mayor’s threat a blatant and unconstitutional violation of the first amendment.

She was joined by other members of various organizations, including civil rights and censorship groups, who also spoke out against the city’s threat to defund and evict the cinema.

“Threatening to evict a theater for showing a film is clearly an act of censorship, plain and simple,” said Mitchell Kaplan, founder of Books and Books. “It violates the very principles of free speech and artistic expression that are foundational to our democracy. I reject this attempt to suppress a film.”

“True freedom means all speech is protected not just the speech that politicians agree with,” said Daniel Tilley, Legal Director of ACLU Florida.

“The people closest to these stories, Should be able to tell them without being silenced even if you don’t agree,” said Nadege Green of the Community Justice Project.

The controversy started after the Oscar-winning film, No Other Land, sold out screenings at the cinema last week as well as this week.

The documentary, made by a team including Palestinian activist Basel Adra as well as Israeli journalist Yuva Abraham, is said to portray the “destruction of Palestinian villages in the West Bank at the hands of the Israeli military.”

However, Miami Beach officials claim the content shown is antisemitic.

Last week, Mayor Steven Meiner, who is Jewish, demanded the film be pulled from Miami Beach’s O Cinema theater , threatening to cut their lease.

“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.’”

In a resolution put forth by the mayor, the city states its “desire to identify a new tenant/grantee to operate the movie theater located on the premises that more accurately reflects the city’s values.”

The proposal to terminate O Cinema’s lease has been met with its share of backlash from residents and filmmakers.

On Monday, Meiner and city commissioners received an open letter from more than 600 members of the international filmmaking community, calling the mayor’s effort an attack on freedom of expression.

Among them was Miami native Barry Jenkins, who directed the award-winning film Moonlight in 2017.

“It has a longstanding commitment to the Jewish community, and knee-jerk reactions that threaten its future will lead to costly legal battles that waste taxpayer dollars.”

On Tuesday, ahead of the expected city’s virtual press conference, O Cinema responded to the mayor on social media.

“If it can happen to O Cinema, a small non-profit independent cinema, then what’s to stop it from happening to any and all arts organization within our community and beyond.”

Activists said they are concerned about the impact the mayor’s action could have on the future of Miami Beach.

“The city risks lawsuits for violating free-speech protections, and it sounds of chilling message to businesses that political pressure, not principles, dictates policy,” said Kaplan.

Meiner held his virtual town hall on Tuesday, making it the first time he speaks in public about his controversial proposal.

He said his goal in this back-and-forth with the cinema is to achieve a more fair and balanced narrative. He said if O Cinema wants to screen a film that, he said, crosses political and religious lines, then he thinks it’s only fair that they air a pro-Israeli film as well.

City commissioners are set to vote on the mayor’s proposal on Wednesday.