Concerns have been raised this week after censors stepped in to ban three of the films submitted for this year's Cairo Film Festival. Although censorship was rife under the now ousted Mubarek regime, its approach had been growing more relaxed, particularly in relation to social taboos. Now filmmakers fear that the religious focus of the new regime may lead to further restrictions on the subjcts they are able to tackle.
Although the names of the three banned films have not yet been released, it is understood that one of them contained a sex scene, one dealth with the subject of adultery and the other had a gay theme. Films with sexual imagery have previously been restricted at the festival, with only critics allowed to see them, but it is unusual for one to be banned altogether. Following the success of films like The Yacoubian Building and Scheherazade, Tell Me A Story - the latter of which also raised the controversial subject of domestic violence - adultery had become a borderline acceptable subject, but debate around women's rights in Egypt remains sensitive and may have been a contributing factor in the censors' decision.
Gay themes have traditionally been allowed in Egyptian cinema but only where they are presented negatively. Maher Sabry's 2008 film Toul Omry, partly based on real events, was subject to protests because it featured a sympathetic gay character. Although homosexuality is legal in Egypt, it is often censored in the media under the pretext that it offends public morality.
