ALBAWABA - Talk To Me has been banned in Kuwait has over the inclusion of a transgender actor in the cast.
Although the movie has been released in the Gulf countries, but the Ministry Of Information in Kuwait has blocked Talk To Me because of the sexuality of Australian actor Zoe Terakes, who identifies as nonbinary and trans masculine, and The State of Kuwait does not support LGBTQ.
Previously, Kuwait has banned several movies because of their themes and references to LGBTQ. However, this is the first time the country bans a movie solely due to the gender identity of one of its cast members.
Zoe Terakes Statement
In return, Terakes has broken their silence and wrote a lengthy response on Instagram addressing the issue.
They started their response by saying: "Hello. I’ve been wondering how to respond to this. Whether it deserves the dignity of a response. This isn’t the first film Kuwait has banned. If there are queer or trans themes or scenes in your film, it’s probably not gonna make it to the Gulf. Which is devastating and terrifying in its own right."
Zoe added: "But our film doesn’t have queer themes. Our film doesn’t actually ever mention my transness, or my queerness. I am a trans actor who happened to get the role. I’m not a theme. I’m a person."
The actor then went on lashing out at Kuwait for banning their movie: "Kuwait has banned this film due to my identity alone. Reportedly, this is a first. This is a new precedent. It is targeted and dehumanizing and means to harm us. As much as it is very sad to be on the receiving end of this, what is even more heartbreaking is what this precedent means for the queer and trans people of Kuwait."
Zoe Terakes then talked about representation and hope for trans actors.
"Representation is hope. Representation is a light at the end of the tunnel, a reason to keep going, something to hold onto in the dark, a voice that whispers things can be better than they are. Eliminating trans actors on screens will not eliminate trans people (as much as the government of Kuwait wishes it would) but it will eliminate a lot of hope. And hope is such a large part of how we live as marginalised people. It’s how we learn to move through the hatred and the mistreatment and the violence. We look to all the people who have done it before us, we look to all the people who are doing it beside us, and that gives us hope to keep going. We are a community that has learnt to depend on each other, because cis people have historically been no help. Therefore, our survival is so dependent on our ability to look to each other, to share with each other, to lean on each other, to love each other, to see each other. My heart breaks for the trans people and queer people of Kuwait who have so few places to look. In love and anger, Zo x."
Filmmakers support Zoe Terakes
Standing in solidarity with Zoe Terakes, the producer company of the horror movie Causeway Films and the sales agent Bankside Films have released a joint statement that was exclusively shared by The Hollywood Reporter.
They said: "We stand in solidarity with Zoe Terakes following the decision by Kuwait to ban the film Talk to Me. Zoe has made their own statement, which we fully support, and we are immensely proud of their involvement in the film."
