'The Danish Girl' Banned in Qatar for "Moral Depravity" After Complaints

Theaters in Qatar have banned The Danish Girl due to the "moral depravity" some felt was depicted in the film and complaints filed. The film tells the tale of one of the first known recipients of sex reassignment surgery. Directed by Tom Hooper, it stars Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander.

Despite the film being nominated for numerous awards, Qatar's government has stopped it being shown in theaters in the country following outrage on social media from people who managed to see the film in Doha before a complaint was filed.

Qatar's Ministry of Culture stepped in, with the following response:

"We would like to inform you that we have contacted the concerned administration and the screening of the Danish film is now banned from cinemas. We thank you for your unwavering vigilance."

Qatar Cinemas has since confirmed that they are no longer showing the film.

According to Doha News, some people have mixed reactions about the move. One person wrote that they agreed with the move because the film "contains enough moral depravity to go around the world," and that it "contradicts our religion, morals and traditions." Still others felt that the film was simply telling a true story, and didn't find issue with it.

This is not the first time the country has banned a film. The country banned the biblical films Noah and Exodus: Gods and Kings in recent years. Some 50 minutes were also cut out of the version of the film The Wolf of Wall Street that was shown in Qatar. The film was notoriously close to an NC-17 rating in the U.S.

At the time, many Qatar residents found issue with the censorship, due to the fact that almost a quarter of the movie was left out, including whole scenes and conversations.

The Danish Girl is currently out now in select theaters outside of Qatar.