Beijing International Film Festival pulls Oscar-winning gay film

A Chinese film festival has pulled the award-winning gay Call Me By Your Name from its program, the movie’s distributor said, reflecting China’s mottled relationship with gay themes in the creative arts.

The Beijing International Film Festival set for April pulled the film, Sony Pictures Entertainment said, declining to comment on the reason, according to Huffpost Queer.

Homosexuality is not illegal in China, but activists say conservative attitudes in some sections of society have led to occasional government restrictions.

A blacklist of banned audiovisual online content last year also controversially included homosexuality, underlining a long-standing attitude in China toward same-sex relations.

The pulling of Call Me By Your Name also comes as China tightens its grip on media content.

China has long censored violence or sexual content in film releases, with a growing focus on socialist core values. Films with gay themes have met with a mixed reaction with some banned, though others have been given the go-ahead.

“There is no clear policy on this issue, so we are always confused,” said Xin Ying, executive director of the Beijing LGBT+ Centre.

The Gayly. March 26, 2018. 10:37 a.m. CST.