An annual queer film festival in Beijing has been cancelled following alleged harassment from state authorities amid shrinking space for LGBT+ community in China.
The Beijing Queer film festival in the Chinese capital was cancelled a day before it was scheduled to begin on Friday.
Police had mounted pressure on the festival through repeated phone calls in the run-up to the opening of the festival, The Guardian reported.
The organisers of the festival on Thursday wrote on Instagram: “We regret to inform you that the Love Queer Film Week … has been cancelled."
"We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience and disappointment that the cancellation of this event may cause to those who planned to participate or had been looking forward to the film week.”
The festival founded in 2001 by students of Peking University students is one of the only film festival in mainland China catering to LGBT+ issues.
突发：爱酷电影周宣布取消：原定今秋举办的第十九届北京酷儿影展停办🇨🇳🏳️🌈
— 阿冬的酷儿法律观察 (@QueerLawWatchCN) October 29, 2026
2026年10月29日，爱酷电影周（Love Queer Cinema Week，即北京酷儿影展 Beijing Queer Film… pic.twitter.com/mpUg1xjrRB
The incident comes at a time when the Chinese Communist Party under Xi Jinping's rule have been intensifying its crackdown on activists and depictions of LGBT+ people in the media in China and abroad.
China decriminalised homosexuality in 1997, but does not recognise same-sex marriage.
Chinese authorities have actively taken measures to reduce queer visibility in media by censoring content featuring same-sex themes, sidelining advocacy groups, and removing dating apps.
At least dozens of writers of gay erotic fiction danmei or “boy love” have been interrogated, arrested and charged with producing and selling obscene materials in China.
"Beijing under Xi has been tightening social and ideological control, so any activities outside of those sanctioned by the party-state are subjected to intensifying scrutiny and official harassment," Human Rights Watch deputy Asia editor Maya Wang said.
In June, the French embassy in Beijing cancelled the screening of films celebrating Pride Month due to police harassment.
Advocacy group Beijing LGBT, which served as a safe space for the queer community in Beijing, shuttered its doors as the government intensified its clampdown in 2023.