LGBT documentary pulled from film festival after Hong Kong's Film Censorship Authority bans full screening

A documentary titled Taiwan Equals Love has been pulled from an LGBT film festival after the Hong Kong authorities refused to approve the film in its entirety, cinema Broadway Cinematheque announced.

“The Film Censorship Authority did not authorise the screening of the full documentary. We jointly decided to cancel the screenings of the film, in accordance with our agreed policy not to screen censored films in this programme,” the cinema posted in a statement on Facebook.

The cinema apologised for the inconvenience and offered ticket refunds.

Directed by Yan Zhexuan, Taiwan Equals Love is the first documentary that discusses the issue of same-sex marriage after it became officially recognised in Taiwan in 2016. The film interviewed and documented the journey of three same-sex couples from the island as they faced resistance from the anti-LGBT communities while legislators worked to pass an act to legalise gay marriage.

Hong Kong’s EU-Asia Rainbow Docs film festival is co-organised by the Goethe Institute Hong Kong and the European Union’s Office to Hong Kong and Macao. The festival was originally set to screen 12 feature films and four short films about LGBTQI+ communities from different countries between June 30 and July 11.

HKFP has reached out to the Film Censorship Authority for comment.

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