Turkish authorities have deemed A24’s newest film, the gay romantic drama Queer, too “provocative” for public release. In turn, this has resulted in the ban of the Luca Guadagnino-directed film from screening in the country.

Queer is based on William S. Burrough’s 1985 novella of the same name. The story follows fleeing criminal William Lee, played by Daniel Craig of James Bond and Knives Out fame, as he crosses paths with the younger gentleman Eugene Allerton, forming an unexpected and passionate relationship in the process. The character of Allerton is an expat and will be played by Drew Starkey. The overt LGBTQ themes present in the film, mostly manifested in the relationship between the two principal characters, seems to be the catalyst for the Turkish ban.

In response to the decision, Guadagnino has issued his thoughts at a press conference at the Marrakech Film Festival in Morrocco:

“They banned the movie because they said the movie was creating social disorder. I wonder if they’ve seen the movie or if they are just judging it by the outline…[Queer is an] object that shatters our house of values in a way that is so powerful. [I hope the] form of the movie brings the possibility of societal collapse. I am scandalized by cinema. I am shocked by it, that I’m going to fight the institution who wants to tarnish its inevitable powers.”

Guadagnino continued to encourage Turkish audiences to pirate the movie, taking a stand against censorship.  “You can download the movie. I mean, if someone in Turkey downloads the movie, I’m happy.”

“We have only one enemy, which is industrial taste. That is the enemy that we have to fight fiercely against, which is the idea of cinema being slotted within parameters that are given by a sort of invisible law. That is the idea how cinema has to be made to work as an industrial piece,”  Guadagnino finished.

Queer is now playing in a limited release at select theaters and is expected to be included in the upcoming Awards Season conversation.