Bishkek hosts the annual international documentary film festival «Climate and Crises: Situation with Fundamental Rights of Citizens». It became known that screening of all works of the participants has been prohibited.
Earlier it was reported that 22 documentaries from Ukraine, the Czech Republic, France, Slovakia, Germany, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan participate in the competition program. Screenings are scheduled to take place at Broadway cinema from November 14 to November 18.
Screenings of the film «This Rain Will Never Stop» directed by Alina Gorlova about the war in Syria and the film «Mara» directed by Sasha Kulak about the elections in Belarus were banned on Wednesday. According to the head of Bir Duino Kyrgyzstan human rights movement Tolekan Ismailova, the commercial director of Broadway cinema, where the screening was to take place, the representative of AIM Group Samat Begaliyev said that after watching the trailers, he banned screening of the films due to war propaganda in them without presenting a written notice.
«But today, screening of all films of the 16th International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival was banned. Let’s clarify once again — today is the day of social films — about people with disabilities and those left in difficult life situations. We were not voiced any reason why these films should not be shown. That’s awful,» Raikan Absalamova, an employee of the organization, said.
The Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet, Edil Baisalov, did not help resolve the situation. The films were banned from screening by the Ministry of Culture. The ministry itself still does not comment on the ban.
Previously, Bir Duino Kyrgyzstan has already been banned from screening of documentaries «I am gay, I am a Muslim» and a film about Azimzhan Askarov, who was sentenced to life in prison and died on July 25, 2020 in prison colony No. 47.
