09/06/2023 | Writer: Kerem Selçuk
BEKSAV wanted to show the movie Pride for LGBTI+ Pride Month. Kadıköy District Governorate banned the movie, police surrounded the foundation building and detained those who wanted to watch the movie.
With the arrival of the Pride Month, the bans of the district governors have also started. Şişli District Governorate and Kadıköy District Governorate were the first to place bans on LGBTI+ Pride Month events.
BEKSAV wanted to screen the movie “Pride” for LGBTI+ Pride Month. Kadıköy District Governor's Office banned the event. The police blockaded the foundation building and detained those wishing to attend the screening.
Science Aesthetics Culture and Art Research Foundation (BEKSAV) Cinema Collective wanted to screen the film "Pride", the story of the solidarity between miners and queers in the United Kingdom, as part of Pride Month events today (June 7).
Governor's Office Banned the Event
The movie event was banned by the Kadıköy District Governor's Office. BEKSAV Cinema Collective announced that it does not recognize the ban decision and called all moviegoers and LGBTI+s to the screenings in the face of a possible attack:
“The month of honor has arrived and prohibitions have started knocking on our colorful doors! Kadıköy District Governor's Office has decided to ban the screening of the movie 'Pride', which we would watch together in the garden of BEKSAV tonight. Our reaction to this will be to screen the film. Can a movie ever be banned?
We call on all movie lovers, LGBTI+ community and our friends to show solidarity against a possible intervention. As Beksav Cinema Collective, we inform the public and anyone who wishes to attend the evening screening that we will not abide by the decision. Get used to it, we're here!”
Police Detention
As the screening time approached, the police blockaded the foundation’s building. The police detained those who came for the screening of the film and the executives of BEKSAV. BEKSAV publicized the detentions as follows:
“Today, before the screening of BEKSAV Cinema Collective's "Pride" movie, the foundation building was surrounded by the police. BEKSAV and Cinema Collective members and many of our friends who came for the screening were detained. We defend the colors of the rainbow against the LGBTI+ hostility of the government.”
Prohibitions in Şişli As Well
Similarly, Şişli District Governorate banned the Diren Ayol screening that the University Feminist Collective wanted organized on June 6. Women and the queer people shouted out “Get used to it, we are here in solidarity despite the ban!"
Şişli District Governor's Office imposed a one-day ban on events within the boundaries of Şişli district claiming that the documentary screening would fill the society with indignation, disrupt its national and humanitarian values, and undermine social inner peace. At the same time, the ban decision was applicable to all open and closed spaces on the grounds that the documentary screening might be against the constitutional order, and that the ban was intended to protect rights and freedoms and to prevent crime.
The University Feminist Collective did not recognize the ban and held the screening. University women and queers came together and watched the documentary by saying “You are even afraid that women and LGBTI+ persons will come together and watch a movie. Get used to it, we are here in solidarity despite the ban!”
Tags: human rights, arts and culture
