SBS Film Festival Under Siege in Russia
October 3rd 2008 04:53
Gay Rights Under Siege in Russia
by Michael Lucas
Side by Side, a GLBT film festival that had been scheduled for St. Petersburg for the beginning of October, has been squelched by the Russian authorities, on a pretense that the festival venue was in violation of a fire safety code.
That the supposed violation of the fire safety code was a pretense merely is demonstrated by 1) previously expressed Russian government animosity towards the festival and 2) a conspicuous lack of other fire safety code violations being detected throughout St. Petersburg on the same day.
Russian enemies of gay and other human rights had campaigned hard against the existence of the festival for much of 2008. Russian State Artist Nikolai Burlyaev, for example, said that the festival should not be allowed to take place because homosexuality is a sin and gays are perverts.
To show you how the atmosphere in Russia is generally, in January of 2008, an episode of South Park mentioning homosexuality led to widespread hysterical protest.
The Prosecutor General’s Office did not identify which episode its investigators found objectionable, but said it “offends the honor and dignity of Christians and Muslims and insults the feelings of believers irrespective of their faith.” The Russian prosecutors went on to label the South Park episode as “extremist.” A Russian religious leader said that the episode showed “covert and overt propaganda of homosexuality and pedophilia as norms of sexual life.”
All this and more is exactly why I left Russia and have no intention of returning to live there ever. I salute those Russians engaged in the struggle but I do not want to waste my youth and my life fighting anti-gay bigots when instead I can live in New York City and enjoy some degree of freedom and respect for my rights. The film festival organizers plan to continue in alternate venues, however, and I am proud to go and demonstrate my support for them; I will be giving shows in two clubs. I have spoken with John Cameron Mitchell, director of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and he too says he will not be cowed by the bigots.
It is dismaying that the Russian people are so intolerant. Can they not look at their more evolved European neighbors and see for instance that not only is gay-themed cinema respected but that the Berlin and Venice film festivals have dedicated awards for it?
In many European countries, in Canada, in Massachusetts and in California, gays have achieved marital rights. So I repeat; why are the Russians so intolerant of gay people?
To not even allow the freedom of expression of a film festival is reprehensible. Up until a few years ago, they were still throwing gays in jail without justification, and there are, in the present atmosphere of intolerance, grave concerns for violations of gay people’s human rights within Russia.
After the atheist communists, the Russians have returned to being religious with a vengeance, and that vengeance is against gays. They are cherry-picking what is written in their Christian Bible and ignoring all of the Bible’s calls for kindness and respect for one’s fellow human beings. These Russian bigots, many of them newly-wealthy, are driving to churches in their Mercedes and praying for gays not to be allowed to have a film festival showing fine movies like Lucia Puenzo’s XXY. Not only are they praying for that, but they are using their donations to the churches to influence the government to further the oppression of gay people in Russia. It is as though they are trying to buy forgiveness from God for their corruption. But people who believe in God should know that God can not be bought off.
And so, I am going to Russia now, proud but with a heavy heart. I had promised people I would go at this time and give shows; breaking a promise is not my style.
I urge you to communicate with your representatives in Congress, asking them to speak up for the rights of gay people in Russia.
Best regards,
Michael Lucas
Lucas Entertainment
589 8th Ave, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10018
P: 212-924-5892 x12
C: 917-865-5748
F: 212-924-6514
by Michael Lucas
Side by Side, a GLBT film festival that had been scheduled for St. Petersburg for the beginning of October, has been squelched by the Russian authorities, on a pretense that the festival venue was in violation of a fire safety code.
That the supposed violation of the fire safety code was a pretense merely is demonstrated by 1) previously expressed Russian government animosity towards the festival and 2) a conspicuous lack of other fire safety code violations being detected throughout St. Petersburg on the same day.
Russian enemies of gay and other human rights had campaigned hard against the existence of the festival for much of 2008. Russian State Artist Nikolai Burlyaev, for example, said that the festival should not be allowed to take place because homosexuality is a sin and gays are perverts.
To show you how the atmosphere in Russia is generally, in January of 2008, an episode of South Park mentioning homosexuality led to widespread hysterical protest.
The Prosecutor General’s Office did not identify which episode its investigators found objectionable, but said it “offends the honor and dignity of Christians and Muslims and insults the feelings of believers irrespective of their faith.” The Russian prosecutors went on to label the South Park episode as “extremist.” A Russian religious leader said that the episode showed “covert and overt propaganda of homosexuality and pedophilia as norms of sexual life.”
All this and more is exactly why I left Russia and have no intention of returning to live there ever. I salute those Russians engaged in the struggle but I do not want to waste my youth and my life fighting anti-gay bigots when instead I can live in New York City and enjoy some degree of freedom and respect for my rights. The film festival organizers plan to continue in alternate venues, however, and I am proud to go and demonstrate my support for them; I will be giving shows in two clubs. I have spoken with John Cameron Mitchell, director of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and he too says he will not be cowed by the bigots.
It is dismaying that the Russian people are so intolerant. Can they not look at their more evolved European neighbors and see for instance that not only is gay-themed cinema respected but that the Berlin and Venice film festivals have dedicated awards for it?
In many European countries, in Canada, in Massachusetts and in California, gays have achieved marital rights. So I repeat; why are the Russians so intolerant of gay people?
To not even allow the freedom of expression of a film festival is reprehensible. Up until a few years ago, they were still throwing gays in jail without justification, and there are, in the present atmosphere of intolerance, grave concerns for violations of gay people’s human rights within Russia.
After the atheist communists, the Russians have returned to being religious with a vengeance, and that vengeance is against gays. They are cherry-picking what is written in their Christian Bible and ignoring all of the Bible’s calls for kindness and respect for one’s fellow human beings. These Russian bigots, many of them newly-wealthy, are driving to churches in their Mercedes and praying for gays not to be allowed to have a film festival showing fine movies like Lucia Puenzo’s XXY. Not only are they praying for that, but they are using their donations to the churches to influence the government to further the oppression of gay people in Russia. It is as though they are trying to buy forgiveness from God for their corruption. But people who believe in God should know that God can not be bought off.
And so, I am going to Russia now, proud but with a heavy heart. I had promised people I would go at this time and give shows; breaking a promise is not my style.
I urge you to communicate with your representatives in Congress, asking them to speak up for the rights of gay people in Russia.
Best regards,
Michael Lucas
Lucas Entertainment
589 8th Ave, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10018
P: 212-924-5892 x12
C: 917-865-5748
F: 212-924-6514
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