China shuts down Beijing Film FestivalAugust 25, 2014 - 14:46 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - China put a constriction on an independent film festival which was due to open on Saturday, August 23. Authorities seized documents and films from Beijing Independent Film Festival organizers for fear that some of the works could contain criticism of the Communist party and its policies, AceShowbiz reported. The indie filmmakers have been at odds with the Chinese government for years but this has so far been the worst. "In the past few years, when they forced us to cancel the festival, we just moved it to other places, or delayed the screenings," Li Xianting, a film critic and founder of the Li Xianting Film Fund told the AP. "But this year, we cannot carry on with the festival. It is completely forbidden." The festival's artistic director Wang Hongwei was among those detained by the police but were later released, his supporters tweeted. Li said they had been feeling the pressure to shut down in the past few weeks. Government security personnel put him under surveillance and pressured him to cancel the festival, which was due to run through the end of the month. According to some reports, around a dozen men claiming to be villagers blocked one of the entrances to the venue in the Beijing suburb of Songzhuang. The men prevented about 30 directors and members of public from entering and also reporters from photographing and videotaping the scene. "The audience for my films is already quite small, perhaps because I make documentaries that talk about history," movie director Hu Jie said. "If one of the rare film festivals, like the Beijing Independent Film festival, is shot down, then it will be very difficult for us to survive as filmmakers." Top stories The creative crew of the Public TV had chosen 13-year-old Malena as a participant of this year's contest. She called on others to also suspend their accounts over the companies’ failure to tackle hate speech. Penderecki was known for his film scores, including for William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist”, Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”. The festival made the news public on March 19, saying that “several options are considered in order to preserve its running” Partner news | Government reveals details from Pashinyan’s meeting in border village Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has met with a group of residents of a border village in Armenia’s northern Tavush province Narek Manasyan wins European Boxing Championships silver for Armenia Armenia’s Narek Manasyan (92kg) won Armenia’s second silver medal at the European Boxing Championships 2024 on April 28. Blinken urges Azerbaijan to continue negotiations with Armenia Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has urged Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to continue negotiations with Armenia. Pashinyan, Blinken talk Armenia-U.S. ties over the phone Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 28, Pashinyan’s office reports. |