Amazon Prime UK ‘bans’ The Prince for ‘offensive content’, complains distributor
"We have been trying to overturn their decision without avail" says a rep for the film.
Words: Jamie Tabberer; picture: Pecadillo Pictures
Chilean gay prison drama The Prince has been effectively banned from Amazon Prime UK for ‘offensive content’, according to reports.
The 2019 erotic drama, starring Luca Balmaceda and directed by Sebastián Muñoz, follows a young prisoner who forges a relationship with his much older cellmate in 70s Santiago. It contains sexual and violent scenes.
Movies uploaded to Amazon for streaming are subject to the website’s Content Policy Guidelines, which contain rules about ‘sexually explicit content’.
“It certainly contains nothing that hasn’t been seen before in a prison drama”
The film is distributed in the UK by Peccadillo Pictures. Speaking to Deadline, Peccadillo MD Tom Abell said: “We are obviously very concerned and perplexed by Amazon’s ruling.
“We have been trying to overturn their decision without avail and cannot understand why, when we have overwhelming support from all other platforms, they have taken this stance.”
The Prince is still available to stream on platforms such as BFI Player – while the DVD version is available to purchase from Amazon UK.
Abell added: “We cannot deny that The Prince has some explosive and bold scenes but this is what makes it stand out and is such an enjoyable and admired film.
“It certainly contains nothing that hasn’t been seen before in a prison drama and pales in comparison to scenes in many of Amazon’s own productions. We are [at] something of a loss to explain the situation.”
Abell told the publication that a request to Amazon Prime UK for further explanation was met with a link to Amazon’s Offensive Content guidelines.
The guidelines state: “All content submitted for publication consideration or published to Prime Video (including video assets, cover images, and metadata) must adhere to the following content policy guidelines, which may change over time. Failure to comply with these guidelines will result in removal of your content.”
On “sexually explicit content”, such material includes: “Content containing depictions of pornography or explicit depictions of sexual acts or nudity. Content that glorifies illegal sexual acts. Content primarily intended to sexually stimulate.”
To read Attitude’s review of The Prince, click here.
Attitude has approached Amazon Prime UK for comment on Deadline’s story. When contacted by Attitude in November, an Amazon rep said the title was not banned by Amazon Prime Video’s SVOD streaming service.
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