Skip to main content

Venice Film Festival from September 2

Friday, July 31, 2009:: HONG KONG: Three more Chinese-language films have been pulled from an Australian film festival to protest the planned appearance of an exiled Uighur activist Beijing blames for inciting recent ethnic violence, organizers said Thursday.

Rebiya Kadeer's scheduled visit to the Melbourne International Film Festival on Aug. 8 has already prompted Venice Film Festival winner Jia Zhangke and Hong Kong director Emily Tang to withdraw their movies.

The makers of the short Chinese documentary "YB Box," the Hong Kong-Taiwan romance "Miao Miao," and the Hong Kong black comedy "The Moss" have also withdrawn their films, festival spokeswoman Louise Heseltine told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

The boycotting filmmakers are upset by Kadeer's visit and the screening of a documentary about her, Heseltine said.

The 62-year-old U.S.-based activist is scheduled to attend a question-and-answer session after a screening of "10 Conditions of Love" on Aug. 8.

"YB Box" director Liu Feng thinks the Melbourne event has become too political, a publicist said.

"He shares the feelings of the other directors who have pulled out. ... Movies are an art form to him, but if they are linked to politics, he will question that," said Julia Liu, a spokesman for the advertising agency Wieden and Kennedy Shanghai, which made "YB Box."

An official at Mei Ah Entertainment Group Ltd., which made "The Moss," said it was following the lead of other Chinese filmmakers.

"We are worried about the political sensitivity of the situation," said Sara Law, an official in the company's distribution department.

Charlotte Yu, a publicist at Jettone Films, which made "Miao Miao," said she did not handle the film's withdrawal and couldn't immediately comment.

The Melbourne festival has been besieged by objections to Kadeer's appearance. Festival director Richard Moore said an official from the Chinese consulate in Melbourne asked him to pull the film about three weeks ago. The festival's Web site was also hacked — an attack Moore blames on his refusal to scrap the Kadeer film or her visit.

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

India's swine flu death rate is increasing

Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tennis: Clijsters wins US Open, second time

NEW YORK: Kim Clijsters of Belgium won the US Open on Sunday by defeating Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 7-5, 6-3 in the final.She is the first mother to win a Grand Slam title since Evonne Goolagong in 1980, the victory coming just five weeks after she returned to the sport following a 27-month retirement. She was the first wildcard, man or woman, to win a US Open title in the history of the tournament.
Post a Comment
Read more

42 killed in wave of Iraq bombings

BAGHDAD: At least 42 people were killed and nearly 100 wounded in a spate of bomb attacks near the restive northern Iraqi city of Mosul and in the capital Baghdad on Monday, police said. In the deadliest single attack, two booby-trapped lorries exploded before dawn in the village of Khaznah, east of Mosul, leaving 25 people dead and 70 others wounded. Thirty-five houses were destroyed in the village, which is home to members of the tiny Shabak community, a sect of Kurdish origin. In Baghdad, two car bombs went off as day labourers were gathering in the early morning hours looking for jobs.The first bomb exploded at Hay al-Amel, in the west of the capital, killing nine people and injuring 46. The second bomb attack in Shurta Arbaa in the north of the city killed seven people and wounded 35 others.
Post a Comment
Read more