Opening of LGBTQ film festival in St. Petersburg cancelled due to visit from public health authority and police

Officials from Russia’s federal public health watchdog (Rospotrebnadzor) and the police disrupted the opening of the Side by Side (“Bok o Bok”) LGBT Film Festival in St. Petersburg, its organizers reported on Instagram on the evening of November 12.

The festival’s spokesperson Alina Pchelintseva told Mediazona that police officers blocked the entrance to the site of the festival “without any reason or explanation.” “Due to the harassment from the police, we were forced to cancel the film screening for the safety of the viewers,” Pchelintseva said.

She also clarified that Rospotrebnadzor has the right to verify whether or not the festival’s site meets the public health requirements established due to the coronavirus pandemic. The police officers, on the other hand, didn’t have an inspection order, Pchelintseva said.

The organizers announced that the festival’s online screenings will take place as scheduled. They are also hoping to arrange offline viewings.

The St. Petersburg-based outlet Fontanka reported that the festival organizers were summoned to a police station and the attorney general’s office three days before the event and asked, among other things, whether or not minors were allowed to attend the film festival.

The festival’s management assumes that they were called in for questioning due to a complaint (in which case, the authorities are required to carry out an inspection). According to Renat Davletgildeyev, a member of the festival’s jury, officials from Rospotrebnadzor showed up at the opening “at the request of Vitaly Milonov” — a State Duma deputy and former St. Petersburg city councilman who is known for his anti-LGBTQ views.