The Danish Girl has fallen foul of censors in Qatar, but not before it screened in the Gulf state for four days.
Sources have confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that the awards-tipped film about transgender pioneer Lili Elbe showed in Qatari cinemas Thursday through Sunday before being pulled by the local censor board.
The decision followed complaints on social media, with one Twitter user accusing the drama of containing "enough moral depravity to go around the world." Qatar's Ministry of Culture later said on social media that the film had been banned and thanked those concerned for their "unwavering vigilance."
Local website The Doha News reported that Qatar Cinemas had confirmed that all showings of the film — distributed worldwide by Universal, who wouldn't comment on the situation — had been canceled.
Elsewhere in the Middle East, sources told THR that The Danish Girl failed to pass local censors in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait.
The film, for which both Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander have been nominated for BAFTA awards, now joins a growing list of titles not shown in Gulf theaters.
Last year, Fifty Shades of Grey wasn't released in the U.A.E. after censors ordered that 35 minutes be cut, while 2014's Noah — which broke Islamic taboos in its depiction of a religious prophet — received an outright ban in several countries. One contentious film that did make it through wasThe Wolf of Wall Street, although not without almost a quarter — 45 minutes — being removed, leading to viewer complaints that the film didn't make sense.
The next film that could face a possible hurdle in the Middle East is Carol. Sources tell THR that the film is being shown to censors on Sunday.