The chief executive of cinema chain Vue has decided to revoke the controversial ban on the London film, Blue Story.
Following an online petition, which gained more than 6,700 signatures in 18 hours, the Vue boss Tim Richards said they were looking at “beefing up” security, and will be reinstating the film at the 91 Vue cinemas nationwide.
Vue claimed the initial ban was necessary for public safety, stating that there had been 25 “significant incidents” in 16 of its cinemas, including one incident at a Birmingham cinema involving machetes, where seven police officers were injured.
The cinema chain has specified that “significant incidents” refer to illegal activity, harassment, intimidation, violence, public disorder, or anything requiring security, medical, fire or police intervention. However, Vue has only given details about the location and nature of the incident that happened in Birmingham.
The director of Blue Story, Rapman, has inquired after the details of the other incidents, asking, “Where’s the proof? Where’s the evidence?” He has also said that there was “no connection” between his film and the mass brawl in a Birmingham cinema.
The incident occurred in a public area of the multiplex, with eyewitness Choleigh McGuire claiming that the fight started while she was queuing up to see Frozen 2 with her daughter. Rapman, whose real name is Andrew Onwubolu, expressed the view that there were “hidden reasons” behind the ban, and that the violence had been “pinned” on Blue Story.
The ban was also later described as “institutionally racist”, “a negative bias”, and a “systematic and targeted attack”, although a Vue spokesperson has said that the decision to ban Blue Story was “categorically not” about race.
Some Twitter users compared the circumstances to the incident that happened during a 2012 screening of The Dark Knight Rises in the US. They questioned why this film remained in cinemas when a mass shooting, which killed 12 people, occurred during it.
Blue Story is a film about two friends who end up on rival sides of a street war. The director has stated that it was about “love not violence”, and hoped it would give audiences an insight into the world that is so often defined by headlines about knife crime, and allow them to understand how a “good kid” can lose their way.
Vue has recently given a statement: “Following an ongoing review of security to protect the safety of our staff and customers, we hope to be showing the film from this weekend with additional security arrangements in our cinemas to ensure everyone can enjoy the film in comfort and safety“.
Via Twitter, Rapman thanked “everyone who fought for this movie like it was their own”, rejoicing, “We made a lot of noise and now we’ve been heard”.
#Peace.Love.BlueStory
