Russian LGBTQ+ film festival gets website banned by government

A website for a local Russian LGBTQ+ film festival has been banned by the country’s government.

Since 2008, the Side by Side LGBT film festival has been a staple for the country’s queer community.

The event, which usually takes place in St Petersberg, was moved to an online format due to the ongoing pandemic.

According to a report from Deadline, the main website for the LGBTQ+ event was banned by government officials without warning.

Organisers for Side by Side have claimed that the action was initiated due to complaints from conservative groups.

Even though the main site has been pulled, the festival’s third party online cinema remained available for the event’s planned screenings.

The festival’s founder Manny de Guerre has since opened up about the group’s legal plans in a statement.

“We consider the decision to add our site to this blacklist illegal – receiving no advance warning from Roskomnadzor [The Federal Service for Supervision of Communications], nor the chance to defend our case in the courts,” he explained.

“We are currently consulting with our legal team and are taking further action.”

De Guerre went on to encourage attendees to “forge ahead” with the festival’s regular program and listed the resources that people could use for communication.

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