This Director Was Fined For Showing A Film With The Theme Of Same-sex Triangle Love

One of the scenes in the film Outlaw (Photo: IMdb)

JAKARTA - A film festival director that shows films about gay teens has been fined under Russia's gay law.

Larisa Zhuravleva was fined 50,000 rubles for screening director Ksenia Ratushnaya's Outlaw at the Spirit of Fire film festival in March.

Zhuravleva told Znak.com he only learned of the fine, which was handed down in August by a court in Russia's Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Region, when a bailiff called him and asked why he had not paid it.

Outlaw went on to win the festival's top prize even though some scenes had been cut and screened only for over 18 years of age in a bid to comply with anti-LGBT + laws in Vladimir Putin's country.

"I haven't seen the reasons for the court's decision, but I was fined 50,000 rubles for LGBT + propaganda," said Zhuravleva.

"It seems that the requirements for appeal have been passed. And to be honest, in principle, I don't understand what to do personally with this problem and the kind of propaganda we're talking about. "

Outlaw sparked controversy in Russia even before its release. This drama tells two love stories: a triangle between gay teenagers, violent athletes and popular girls; and an affair between a transgender general and dancer in the Soviet 80s.

Zhuravleva said prosecutors in Russia had previously filed a lawsuit against the regional culture department, which asked the Ministry of Culture to issue a rental license for the film so that it could be screened at the festival.

Furthermore, he said he was not even responsible for selecting films to be shown at the festival - but was still fined.