The cancellation of an entire film festival in Türkiye censors Daniel Craig’s new film at the festival due to “provocative content” was triggered by authorities’ decision to ban the screening of a new film featuring Daniel Craig, in which the former James Bond actor plays a gay character.

The film, titled Queer, was scheduled to be shown during a four-day festival organized by the streaming platform Mubi. However, just hours before the festival’s opening, organizers announced that “Kadikoy district authorities informed us that the screening of Queer, the opening film, was banned… citing provocative content that would disturb social peace.”

Organizers further explained that authorities justified the censorship for “security.”

In the film, directed by Luca Guadagnino and premiered at the Venice Film Festival last month, Craig plays a lonely, drug-addicted gay man. The story, based on a novella by William S. Burroughs, depicts a love affair between two men, including romantic scenes that explore the emotional ups and downs of the protagonists.

The streaming platform Mubi condemned the ban as a “restriction on art and freedom of expression.” The festival organizers stated, “Festivals celebrate art and cultural diversity, bringing people together. This ban affects not just one film but the meaning and purpose of the entire festival.”

Although homosexuality was decriminalized in Türkiye censors Daniel Craig’s new film at the festival due to “provocative content” in 1858, it remains largely unaccepted by many segments of society, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan frequently referring to LGBTQ+ individuals as “deviants” and accusing them of posing a threat to traditional families.

It’s worth noting that in 2020, Netflix canceled the production of a series in Türkiye censors Daniel Craig’s new film at a festival due to “provocative content” that included a gay character after failing to obtain government filming permits. Since 2015, Pride events, held worldwide, have been banned in Turkey “for security reasons.”