So we hoped they might at least engage with us, and the ban was very disappointing.Īnd for Samuel, it was a hundred times worse. So it wasn’t us creating a story, but reflecting real life that just does exist. But what was different about “I Am Samuel” was that it was a documentary. We always knew this was a possibility, because the film board has banned films like this before, notably two recent feature films, “Rafiki” and “Stories of Our Lives.” So it would have been naive for us to think we were just going to get a smooth ride. They called it “a clear and deliberate attempt to promote same-sex marriage as an acceptable way of life.” What did you think of that? Kenya’s film board banned the film, saying it violates laws criminalizing homosexuality. Sammy's parents smile at each other in their rural home in Kenya. And it was a conversation we negotiated over and over with Samuel’s friends, his parents, and with Alex when Alex came into his life. But I would say it took a couple years for people to become comfortable with me. The short answer is that it takes a very long time for people to get used to you and be natural and just forget you’re there. You went with him to visit his family both before and just after he came out to them, which happened during the period you were following him. You spent a great deal of time with Sammy, and then later with Sammy and Alex. A lot of it is filmed inside people’s houses, at parties and family gatherings. So he wanted to make this film for people who come from the village, like him, so that those people know they are not alone. And he told me when he was growing up and coming to terms with who he was, he had not one grown person in his life or community who he knew was queer. He comes from the countryside, and he worked in Nairobi on a construction site. He had his own motivations for being involved. And he was interested almost from day one. So I also wanted my film to be a more representative story in that sense, because it’s more true to what’s happening. But that more mainstream story has rarely been told. That means the majority of queer Kenyan men and women are poor. All rights reserved.Russian war’s ‘Phase 2’: How Ukraine troops adapt, giving little groundīut most people in Kenya are poorer than the middle class. ™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. In another example from March 2019, more than two minutes of LGBTQ content - including scenes of two men kissing and use of the word “gay” - were removed from Freddie Mercury biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
In February, major Chinese streaming platforms censored an storyline in the hit 1990s TV series “Friends” in which the character Ross is divorced after his wife Carol realizes she is lesbian. In 2016, China’s top media regulator issued new guidelines that banned TV shows that promote “Western lifestyles,” including depictions of cleavage, drinking, smoking and homosexuality.Īs a result, this is not the first time China has redacted LGBTQ plot lines. “It’s important to us that Chinese audiences have the opportunity to experience it as well, even with these minor edits,” the studio said.
noted that it wants viewers around the world “to see and enjoy this film,” the third in the Fantastic Beasts series of Harry Potter prequels. accepted those changes to comply with local requirements but the spirit of the film remains intact.” “In the case of ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,’ a six-second cut was requested and Warner Bros. “Our hope is to release our features worldwide as released by their creators but historically we have faced small edits made in local markets,” the studio said. (Warner Bros., like CNN, is owned by Warner Bros. “Dumbledore” opens this weekend in the US.
spokesperson said it’s “committed to safeguarding the integrity of every film we release” and that “extends to circumstances that necessitate making nuanced cuts in order to respond sensitively to a variety of in-market factors.” In a statement to CNN Business, a Warner Bros.
The film opened last week in China, the world’s biggest movie market, and one where the government is tightening its grip on censoring media.