Organizers pull Istanbul film festival over 'Queer' ban

Organizers of an Istanbul film festival announced its cancellation Thursday to protest a local authority ban on the screening of "Queer", starring former "James Bond" star Daniel Craig. The arthouse film streaming platform MUBI canceled the entire four-day festival just hours before opening in Kadikoy, on the Asian side of Istanbul.

"Hours before the start... we were told by the Kadikoy district authorities that the screening of 'Queer', the opening film, was banned... on grounds it contained provocative content that would disturb the peace," it said.

The authorities said the ban would be "enforced for security reasons," according to MUBI. In the film, which was directed by Italy's Luca Guadagnino and premiered at the Venice Film Festival last month, Craig sheds his 007 persona for the loneliness and anguish of a drug-addicted gay man.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 06: (L-R) Luca Guadagnino, Daniel Craig, Justin Kuritzkes, Drew Starkey, Jonathan Anderson and Andrea Scrosati appear onstage at the screening of "Queer" during the 62nd New York Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center on October 06, 2024 in New York City. Theo Wargo/Getty Images for FLC/AFP

A love story between two men, based on a short novel by William S. Burroughs, includes graphic sex scenes as it traces their emotional highs and lows. MUBI denounced the ban as "restricting art and freedom of expression."

"Festivals are breathing spaces celebrating art and cultural diversity and bringing people together. This ban affects not only a film but the meaning and purpose of the entire festival," it said.

Although homosexuality was decriminalized in Turkey in 1858, it is frowned upon by large swathes of society, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan regularly referring to LGBTQ people as "perverts" and accusing them of posing a threat to traditional families.

Daniel Craig alongside his wife at the Venice Film Festival to promote his latest film Queer IMDB

In 2020, streaming giant Netflix canceled the production of a series in Turkey featuring a gay character after failing to obtain government permission for filming. Istanbul's annual Pride march has been banned every year on security grounds since 2015, and LGBTQ individuals say they face regular harassment and abuse.

London-based MUBI, a global arthouse movie streamer, producer, and distributor, was established in 2007 by Turkish entrepreneur Efe Cakarel. Its website says it offers streaming services in more than 195 countries.