In a city where gay pride parades are banned and LGBT activists are routinely arrested for staging demonstrations, a movie about gay rights premiered without so much as a protest. Pride, the British comedy that was released internationally last year, made its Russian debut in Moscow last week. Based on the true story of gay activists who united to help a U.K. miners' union in 1984, the movie has since been screened in more than a dozen theaters across seven cities nationwide, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Its release is notable considering the country's anti-gay law, which bans "propaganda" that promotes "non-traditional sexual relationships" to minors. The 2013 drama Blue is the Warmest Color was the last LGBT-themed movie released in Russia, the same year as president Vladimir Putin signed the anti-gay bill into law. The legislation came a year after Moscow courts decided to prohibit gay pride parades, a ruling that has drawn criticism from human rights organizations around the world. LGBT activists have risked arrest to host the Moscow Pride Parade every year for a decade.
"As the Western World is becoming more liberal about same-sex marriage, Russia is rolling back to the dark ages with its anti-gay propaganda law," Russian film distributor Yan Vizinberg told The Reporter. His company, Arthouse, rallied to release the film nationwide, despite being given a restrictive rating that prevents anyone under the age of 18 from seeing it.
Vizinberg and partner Sam Klebanov said local reactions to the film have been overwhelmingly positive, with the Moscow premiere earning a standing ovation.
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