Up Front
C R E D I
T: L u m l i L u m l o n g
28 POSTCARDS FROM PUTIN’S
PRISON: ALEXANDRA DOMENECH The Russian teenager running an anti-war campaign from behind bars
30 THE SCIENCE OF
PERSECUTION: ZOFEEN T EBRAHIM Even in death, a Pakistani scientist continues to be vilified for his faith
32 CINEMA AGAINST THE STATE:
ZAHRA HANKIR Artists in Lebanon are finding creative ways to resist oppression
35 FIRST THEY CAME FOR THE
GREENS: ALESSIO PERRONE, DARREN LOUCAIDES, SAM EDWARDS The climate crisis isn’t the only threat facing environmentalists
38 UNDERCOVER FREEDOM
FUND: GABIJA STEPONENAITE Belarusian dissidents have a new weapon: cryptocurrency
41 A PHANTOM ACT:
DANSON KAHYANA Uganda’s anti-pornography law is restricting women’s freedom and their mini skir ts
44 DON’T SAY ‘GAY’: UGONNA-
ORA OWOH Queer Ghanaians are coming under fire from new antiLGBT+ laws
Special Report: The final cut
48 MONEY TALKS IN
HOLLYWOOD: KAREN KRIZANOVICH Out with the old and in with the new? Not on Hollywood’s watch
51 STRINGS ATTACHED:
JP O’MALLEY Saudi Arabia’s booming film industry is the latest weapon in their soft power armoury
55 FILMMAKERS PULL IT OUT OF
THE BAG: SHOHINI CHAUDHURI Iranian creatives are finding increasingly innovative ways to get around Islamic taboos
58 EDITED OUT OF EXISTENCE:
TILÉWA KAZEEM There’s no room for queer stories in Nollywood
62 MAKING MOVIES TO
RULE THE WORLD: JEMIMAH STEINFELD Author Erich Schwartzel describes how China’s imperfections are left on the cutting room floor
65 WHEN THE ORIGINAL IS
BETTER THAN THE REMAKE: SALIL TRIPATHI Can Bollywood escape from the Hindu nationalist narrative?
68 SELECTED SCREENINGS:
MARIA SORENSEN The Russian filmmaker who is wanted by the Kremlin
71 A CHRONICLE OF
CENSORSHIP: MARTIN BRIGHT A documentary on the Babyn Yar massacre faces an unlikely obstacle
74 ERDOĞAN’S CRUCIBLE:
KAYA GENÇ Election results bring renewed hope for Turkey’s imprisoned filmmakers
79 RACE, ROYALTY AND
RELIGION - MALAYSIAN CINEMA’S RED LINES: DEBORAH AUGUSTIN A behind the scenes ticket to a banned film in Malaysia
Comment
84 JOIN THE EXILED
PRESS CLUB: CAN DÜNDAR The unique challenges faced by dissident journalists in exile
86 FREEDOMS LOST IN
TRANSLATION: BÄNOO ZAN Supporting immigrant writers - one open mic poetry night at a time
90 ME TOO’S TWO SIDES:
JOHN SCOTT LEWINSKI In the post #MeToo world, how do we avoid becoming polarised?
92 WE MUST KEEP
HOLDING THE LINE: JEMIMAH STEINFELD When free speech is coopted by extremists, tyrants are the only winners
Culture
96 IT’S NOT NORMAL:
NAZANIN ZAGHARI-RATCLIFFE, TOOMAJ SALEHI Toomaj Salehi’s life is at the mercy of the Iranian state, but they can’t kill his lyrics
99 NO OFFENCE INTENDED:
KAYA GENÇ Warning: this short story may contain extremely inoffensive content
104 THE UNSTILLED VOICE
OF GAZAN THEATRE: LAURA SILVIA BATTAGLIA For some Palestinian actors, their characters’ lives have become a horrifying reality
108 SILENT ORDER:
FUJEENA ABDUL KADER, UPENDAR GUNDALA, VALLACHIRA MADHAVAN The church is still censoring tales of India’s convents
111 FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
IS THE CANARY IN THE COALMINE: RUTH ANDERSON, MARK STIMPSON Our former CEO reflects on her four years spent at Index
INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG
CHIEF EXECUTIVE Jemimah Steinfeld ACTING EDITOR Sally Gimson ASSISTANT EDITOR Katie Dancey-Downs EDITOR-AT-LARGE Martin Bright ASSOCIATE EDITOR Mark Stimpson ART DIRECTOR Matthew Hasteley EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Daisy Ruddock SUB EDITORS Adam Aiken, Tracey Bagshaw, Jan Fox CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Kaya Genç, Emily Couch, Danson Kahyana, Salil Tripathi HEAD OF POLICY & CAMPAIGNS Jessica Ní Mhainín POLICY & CAMPAIGNS OFFICER Nik Williams DEVELOPMENT OFFICER FUNDRAISING & EVENTS Anna Millward DIRECTORS & TRUSTEES Trevor Phillips (Chair), Kate Maltby (Vice Chair), Anthony Barling, Andrew Franklin, James Goode, Helen Mountfield, Elaine Potter, Mark Stephens, Nick Timothy, Ian Rosenblatt PATRONS Margaret Atwood, Simon Callow, Steve Coogan, Brian Eno, Christopher Hird, Jude Kelly, Michael Palin, Matthew Parris, Alexandra Pringle, Gabrielle Rifkind, Sir Tom Stoppard, Lady Sue Woodford Hollick ADVISORY COMMITTEE Julian Baggini, Jeff Wasserstrom, Emma Briant, Ariel Dorfman, Michael Foley, Conor Gearty, AC Grayling, Lyndsay Griffiths, William Horsley, Anthony Hudson, Natalia Koliada, Jane Kramer, Jean-Paul Marthoz, Robert McCrum, Rebecca MacKinnon, Beatrice Mtetwa, Julian Petley, Michael Scammell, Kamila Shamsie, Michael Smyth, Tess Woodcraft, Christie Watson
INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG 3
