Russia bans Call Me by Your Name and two other foreign films over LGBT content

A St. Petersburg court has declared it illegal in Russia to distribute the films Love, Simon (2018); Kill Your Darlings (2013); and Call Me by Your Name (2017) online.

The court ruled that these films contain “destructive ideologies” and are aimed at changing audiences’ views of LGBTQ people.

“It was established that webpages [hosting the films] contained information that promotes interest in non-traditional sexual relationships and seeks to change negative attitudes towards them into positive ones by disseminating such information,” it said in a statement.

The court cited the Russian Supreme Court’s 2023 ban on the non-existent “international LGBT movement”, a decision that effectively criminalised queer life in Russia.

Russia outlawed “LGBT propaganda” in 2013, claiming the measure was to protect children from depictions of “non-traditional family relations”. In 2022, the government extended the ban to cover all ages.