Horror film Talk To Me banned in Kuwait over actor who is trans
"Our film doesn't have queer themes," responded Zoe Terakes, whose character's gender identity is never mentioned in Talk To Me.
Talk To Me, the new horror film from Australia has been banned in Kuwait over its inclusion of an actor who is trans.
According to the state news agency, the ban is to protect “public ethics and social traditions.”
Zoe Terakes, who identifies as non-binary and trans-masculine, stars in the A24 film as Hayley. The character’s gender identity is never mentioned in the film.
The move follows the banning of Barbie, the comedy film directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie, in Middle Eastern countries including Lebanon and Kuwait after its release last month.
“Our film doesn’t have queer themes” – Talk To Me‘s Zoe Terakes
In an Instagram statement responding to the news, Terakes called the ban “heartbreaking.”
“I’ve been wondering how to respond to this,” they said. “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. 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. Kuwait has banned this film due to my identity alone. Reportedly, this is a first. This is a new precedent. It is targeted and dehumanising and means to harm us.”
LGBTQs face severe persecution in Kuwait. Consensual sexual activity between men in the Gulf country is illegal, carrying a seven-year prison sentence. No laws specifically criminalise same-sex sexual activity between women.
In a rare sign of progress in 2022, Kuwait’s Constitutional Court reversed Article 198 of the penal code, a law criminalising “imitating the opposite sex” used to prosecute trans people.
“One of the first truly scary horrors we’ve had in a while”
Talk To Me, which is in cinemas now and follows a group of teenagers who contact the spirit world, has a 95% ‘Certified Fresh’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In his review of the film for Attitude, writer Joey Passmore called the film “relentless, grotesque, and ultimately one of the first truly scary horrors we’ve had in a while.”