Mubi Cancels Film Festival After Turkey Banned Luca Guadagnino’s Queer

Turkey won’t be seeing Queer. The Turkish government has banned Luca Guadagnino’s new movie Queer, which was the opening film for the Mubi film festival in Istanbul. In response, Mubi has canceled the entire festival, originally supposed to be taking place from November 7-10. In a statement shared on Instagram, the film distributor explained how the film being banned impacted the festival, writing, “The decision states that the movie is banned because it contains provocative content that would endanger the peace of society and that the ban decision would be implemented for security reasons. We believe this ban is an intervention that restricts art and freedom of expression. Festivals are breathtaking spaces where art and cultural diversity are celebrated, bringing people together. This ban takes not just one movie away from the meaning and purpose of the entire festival.” Mubi distributes the film throughout most of Europe and Latin America, while A24 distributes in the USA.