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Streaming platform Mubi canceled its Mubi Fest Istanbul at the eleventh hour in protest of the local authority’s ban on screening the Daniel Craig-starring drama Queer. Read also:Strange Trailer: Daniel Craig longs for a lover in Drew Starkey in erotic Luca Guadagnino film. Watch
film festival canceled
The film festival, which will run in Istanbul for the first time in 2023, was scheduled to open for the second time in the city from November 7 to 10, following editions in Sao Paulo, Santiago, Bogotá, Buenos Aires and Mexico.
In a statement released on its Turkish-language Instagram page dedicated to Mubi Turkey, the streaming platform said it was halting the entire event in response to the ban. According to reports, the announcement was made just hours before the opening in Kadıköy, on the Asian side of Istanbul Diversity,
“Just hours before the start of Mubi Fest Istanbul 2024, which took months to prepare and sold out days in advance, we were regretful to learn that the screening of Queer, which was part of the festival program and was also the opening film, Banned,” a post on Mubi Turkey’s Instagram page read.
“The decision states that the film is banned because it contains provocative material that will endanger the peace of the society and the ban will be enforced for security reasons,” it said.
The statement further said, “We believe that this ban is an interference that restricts the freedom of art and expression. Festivals are breathtaking places where arts and cultural diversity are celebrated, bringing people together. This ban takes away not just one film but the entire festival from its meaning and purpose.”
The platform thanked the artists, audiences and supporters who had planned to attend the festival and promised refunds in the coming days.
about queer
Set in 1950, Queer stars Daniel Craig as an American expatriate in Mexico who spends his days almost entirely alone, except for a few contacts with other members of the small American community. She meets an expatriate ex-soldier who convinces her that it may finally be possible to establish an intimate relationship with someone.
The film is directed by Luca Guadagnino and premiered at the Venice Film Festival last month. Based on a short novel by William S. Burroughs, it contains graphic sex scenes as it traces a love story between two men.
