New York: Human Rights Watch says Chinese officials have targeted dozens of Chinese film makers and their families in China, forcing them to pull their movies from the IndieChina Film Festival that started in New York.
The festival, set for Nov. 8‑15, was “suspended,” organizer Zhu Riku announced on Thursday. Human Rights Watch (HRW) claims the Chinese government reached out worldwide to shut the event down. “This is a clear example of trans‑national repression,” says HRW China researcher Yalkun Uluyol. “China wants to control what people see and learn about the country.”
On Nov. 1, the festival team posted a social‑media note that directors and their families had received harassing messages from Chinese authorities. By Nov. 4, more than two‑thirds of the planned screenings were cancelled.
HRW notes that China’s crackdown on independent film has grown in the past decade. Many film makers face prosecution or imprisonment, and some have fled the country. In 2014, famed documentary maker Shen Yongping was jailed for a year for alleged “illegal business activity” after making a critical film about China’s constitution. In January 2025, documentary filmmaker Chen Pinlin, also known as Plato, got a 3½‑year sentence for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” after filming Covid‑19 protest footage.
In April, authorities seized equipment from artist Guo Zhenming after he recorded Uyghur folk music in Xinjiang, a region with harsh repression of Uyghur Muslims. He was fined 75,000 yuan (about US$10,550) for not providing a screenplay synopsis.
HRW also highlights that the Chinese authorities have banned 13 films in Hong Kong over “national security” concerns. The agency says Chinese repression isn’t limited to film. It reports interference with a Bangkok art exhibit and censorship of works by Uyghur, Tibetan, and Hong Kong artists in August.
“We need to hold Chinese officials accountable for these cross‑border abuses,” Uluyol says. “Film festivals and other arts venues have to stand together with governments to protect free expression from Beijing’s long arm abroad.”
Source: ianslive
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