In New York, dozens of Catholics demonstrated against Benedetta, the latest film by Dutch director Paul Verhoeven. The protest took place ahead of the film’s premiere at the New York Film Festival at Alice Tully Hall. Protesters chanted slogans and stood with large banners. “We strongly protest against the blasphemous lesbian film Benedetta, which insults the sanctity of Catholic nuns,” reads one of the canvases photographed by film website IndieWire.
The film, which can already be seen in the cinemas here, is not going well with religious people because of certain nude scenes. In one of the much-discussed scenes, a homemade dildo is used in the shape of a saint. Verhoeven said about that scene at the film festival in Cannes: “Everyone is talking about that dildo. While I personally think the torture scene at the end is much worse. But strangely enough you don’t hear about that.”
The Dutch director emphasized that he did not make up the scenes, but that they are described as such in the testimonies of the Catholic Church from that time. Earlier, Russia decided to completely ban the film.
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