The streamer MUBI says it has scrapped a film festival due to take place in Turkey this weekend. The decision was made after authorities said the streamer could not screen the new movie, Queer. The acclaimed film comes from Italian director Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name,

Turkish authorities increasingly intervening in movie screenings and festivals citing 'danger to public peace'

Streaming platform Mubi has cancelled its long planned Mubi Fest Istanbul at the eleventh hour after the city governor banned a screening of Luca Guadagnino’s LGBTI+ themed movie Queer, which was to have been the opening film.

"This ban not only targets a single film but also undermines the very essence and purpose of the festival," a company statement said after the local government banned the opening night feature.

"This ban distances not only a film but the entire festival from its meaning and purpose," Mubi Fest Istanbul organizers wrote on social media.

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The arthouse streamer said it pulled the MUBI Fest in Istanbul in the "name of protecting freedom of expression and artistic expression."