An independent film festival due to start in New York This weekend was canceled after many film workers were arrested due to the authorities’ ruling from Chinese prisons, which worried about transnational resistance.
The inaugural Indiechina Film Festival is planned to be held between 8 and 15 November. But on 5 November, the Casard of the Festival, Zhu Rikun, posted on Facebook that he was forced to cancel 80% of the planned screens
Zhu said the requests mainly came from China-based directors, who cited “personal reasons” for changing their minds about screening their films. Directors based outside of China say their families back home have been contacted by the Chinese authorities, a common way of applying pressure to people beyond the borders of people beyond the borders of people beyond the borders of people beyond the borders of people beyond the borders of people beyond the borders of people beyond the borders.
Zhu, who is based in New York, said a colleague at his studio in Beijing was brought in for questioning by authorities and told not to work with him.
One of the festival venues received an anonymous letter claiming to be from a group of Chinese students living in New York who wanted the screening canceled, Zhu said.
On Thursday, Zhu said he was forced to cancel the festival. “Given the current circumstances, if I do not suspend this edition of the film festival, anyone involved in the festival – whether directors, forum participants, associated staff, volunteers, or even audience members – could potentially face threats or harassment,” he said in a statement.
“This situation puts me in a difficult ethical situation. As an organizer and an individual, I have no intention of putting anyone at risk, if this is a means of interference.”
“The Chinese government has reached out to the whole world to shut down a film festival in New York City,” said Yalkun Ulloyol, a human rights watch. “This latest act of transnational resistance demonstrates the Chinese government’s intent to control what the world sees and knows about China.”
Zhu is a famous film-maker involved in an active film science in China. But the community was pushed underground as the country’s authorities cracked down on cultural activities that took place outside the Chantunist Party’s Control.
In 2014, the most famous independent film festival was closed and the Cungorator archive was seized by the authorities.
In January, Chen Pinlin, a documentary filmmaker, sentenced to three-and-a-half years In prison after the release of a documentary about the 2022 “white paper” protests.
Many people associated with the festival have come under pressure from the Chinese authorities, with many choosing not to publicize their experiences, for fear of creating a further backlash.
Activists say transnational efforts to boycott China, especially in the arts, are ratcheting up. In August, an Art Gallery in Bangkok was reported Followed by requests From the Chinese Embassy to the censor details of a show that references Tibet, Hong Kong and Xinjiang, areas that the Chinese government treats as sensitive.
The Chinese embassy in Washington has been approached for comment.
Additional Research By Lillian Yang