23/01/2025 | Writer: Yıldız Tar
Following the ban on the screening of the documentary “Bellekvari” within the scope of Queerfest, the entire festival was also banned.
The 13th Pink Life Queerfest kicked off yesterday (January 22nd) with an invitation-only opening at Ankara. Zeliş Deniz Queer Cinema Award Ceremony was also held at the opening.
Within the scope of the festival, the screening of the film “BELLEKVARİ: An Oral History of QueerFest”* documentary was banned. The decision of ban on the documentary which was planned to be screened this evening, was notified by the police to the screening venue, Mülkiyeliler Birliği.
The decision to ban the documentary “Bellekvari” was not shared on the Ankara Governorate's website or social media accounts.
After the banning of the documentary, police officers went to the office of the Pink Life Association and notified them of the decision to ban the entire festival.
The decision notified to Pink Life stated that the Ankara Governorate Legal Affairs Branch Directorate banned the festival with a decision taken today. Unlike the previous one, this decision was also declared on Ankara Governorate’s website.
The decision stated that “all activities related to the 13th Pink Life Queerfest were banned for the protection of public order, public health and morals, and the rights and freedoms of others”.
The ban decision also claimed that Pink Life Queerfest events “exhibited attitudes and behaviors against public morality, including some social sensitivities and sensitivities”.
*Bellekvari can be roughly translated to English as, "like a memory, something resembles the memory"
Tags: human rights, arts and culture
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