China cancels Beijing queer film festival after pressure from authorities
Love Queer Film Week, the oldest of its kind in mainland China, was not held; organizers cite police intimidation.
Translated from the Portuguese original by the Panorama newsroom. Read in Portuguese
Summary written by the Panorama newsroom from the sources listed below. Facts are attributed to the original publications.
The Beijing Queer Film Festival, also called Love Queer Film Week and considered China's oldest LGBTQIA+ film event, was canceled this year after pressure from local authorities, according to the organizers. Folha de S.Paulo reported the case on October 30, the day the program was supposed to begin in the capital.
In a note on Instagram, the organization apologized to participants and the public. According to the British newspaper The Guardian, Chinese police stepped up their pressure on the event in recent weeks, with frequent phone calls and intimidation.
Created in 2001 by students at Peking University, the festival is the only one in mainland China to screen films and host debates on queer themes. In recent years, the government has reduced tolerance for events and works related to gender and sexuality.
An emblematic case occurred in 2014, when the Beijing Independent Film Festival was forcibly shut down, with the detention of founders and the cutting of electricity at the venue.
Censorship has also crossed the country's borders: last year, a screening of Chinese independent cinema planned in New York was canceled because of state reprisals, according to the Guardian.