Mubi Cancels Turkish Festival After Country Bans ‘Queer’ Screening

variety.com:

Alex Ritman Mubi has scrapped an entire festival it had planned in Turkey after local authorities banned a screening of Luca Guadagnino’s “Queer.” The arthouse distributor and streamer was due to hold the annual Mubi Fest Istanbul in the Turkish capital between Nov.

7-10 with “Queer” set as the opener. But when it was told to pull the screening, it opted to cancel the entire event. According to reports, the film — based on William S.

Burroughs novel and starring Daniel Craig as a gay expat living in Mexico — was deemed to contain “provocative content.” “Just hours before the start of MUBI Fest Istanbul 2024, we were informed via a notification from the Kadıkoy District Governor’s Office that the screening of Queer, the festival’s opening film, was banned,” MUBI said on Instagram. “The decision stated that the film was prohibited on the grounds of containing provocative content, which was deemed a threat to public peace, and that the ban would be enforced for security reasons.” MUBI condemned the decision, describing it as it a restriction on artistic expression and freedom of speech, and undermined the festival’s meaning and purpose.