Phayul
Thursday, January 07, 2010 14:59
By Phurbu Thinley

Dharamsala, Jan 7: The director of the Palm Springs International Film Festival has said two Chinese movies selected for the event have been withdrawn after organisers declined Chinese government representatives' request to cancel screenings of a documentary about Tibet’s freedom struggle.

Chinese state-run media Wednesday reported that the makers of the two Chinese movies were upset at the inclusion of a “Tibetan independence” themed film and decided to quit the international film festival in protest of their own. The reports made no mention of government’s interference.

New media reports now show that the move came after festival director Darryl Macdonald defied a request by Chinese officials not to show the documentary The Sun Behind The Clouds: Tibet’s Struggle For Freedom on January 10 and 12.

“After meeting with representatives from the Chinese government regarding their request to cancel our screenings of The Sun Behind The Clouds: Tibet’s Struggle for Freedom, we have respectfully declined their request,” Screen Daily quoted Macdonald as saying.

“I’m saddened that the Chinese film authorities have chosen to withdraw their films from PSIFF, as the festival is an international cultural event whose mandate is to present a wide cross-section of perspectives and points of view.

“That said, we cannot allow the concerns of one country or community to dictate what films we should or should not play, based on their own cultural or political perspective. Freedom of expression is a concept that is integral both to the validity of artistic events, and indeed, to the ethos of this country,” Macdonald added.

Organisers have now announced that the screenings of the two Chinese movies -- Lu Chuan’s Nanking Massacre drama City Of Life And Death and Ye Kai’s comedy Quick, Quick, Slow -- will be replaced by other films.

The move recalls events leading up to last summer’s Melbourne International Film Festival when three Chinese films were withdrawn.

Last July Chinese government forced the withdrawal from the film festival of Zhao Liang’s Chinese-French documentary Petition – The Court Of The Complainants, about the injustices perpetuated by China’s bureaucracy, Emily Tang’s Hong Kong drama Perfect Life, and the short film Cry Me A River.

Chow Keung, the Hong Kong producer of Perfect Life and Cry Me A River, had to pull his films in response to the inclusion of Australian documentary The 10 Conditions Of Love, about Uyghur leader Rebiya Kadeer. Melbourne organisers were also informed they no longer had access to Petition – The Court Of The Complainants.

The 10 Conditions Of Love was screened anyway.