Dominic West, Bill Nighy Condemn Turkish Ban of 'Pride' Screening Amid LGBT Crackdown

The 2014 British comedy was due to screen in Ankara before the event was canceled over fears the movie "could incite hatred."

The cast and crew of the 2014 British comedy film Pride, retelling the story of how LGBT activists aided a village of striking Welsh miners in the 1980s, have issued an open letter condemning the banning of a screening of the movie in Turkey.

Dominic West, Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, Andrew Scott, director Matthew Warchus and writer Stephen Beresford were among the signatories of the letter, which also attacked Turkey's recent repression of LGBT rights and the banning of the annual pride march.

"As members of the creative team which produced the 2014 film Pride, and activists portrayed in that film, we are disturbed by reports of the growing repression of the LGBT+ community in Turkey culminating in the recent ban of the annual pride parade and police violence against those who courageously defied the ban," the letter read.

"Reports that the Ankara authorities also banned a screening of the film Pride are a chilling reminder that political authoritarianism regards artistic expression as its enemy."

Pride — which bowed in Cannes 2014 and earned BAFTA and British Independent Film Award honors — had already been released in Turkey, but was due to be given a special screening in the Turkish capital of Ankara on June 28. However, the Hurriyet Daily News reported that the Ankara governor’s office had refused to allow the event to go ahead, claiming that it "could incite hatred and enmity among different groups of people based on class, racial, religious and sectarian differences."

The cancellation comes amid a clampdown on LGBT activities in Turkey, including the annual pride march. Although the event has been officially banned for the past three years, an attempt by activists to stage one last month in Istanbul was put down by police.

"We send our unshakeable solidarity and support to LGBT+ people in Turkey who are now challenging the ban on LGBT+ events in Turkey," the open letter continued. "We deplore the decision of the Ankara Governate in banning the screening of Pride and call on the ambassador for Turkey in London, Abdurrahman Bilgic, and the UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson, to condemn the repressive actions of the Turkish authorities."