China Shuts Down Independent Film Festival in Beijing1 min read
Reading Time: < 1 minuteOrganizers experienced what is now an annual crackdown on their indie fest.
Chinese authorities have once again shut down the 11th Beijing Independent Film Festival on its opening day, as the government keeps a tight leash on movies outside the state-approved system.
The festival tries to offer a platform for independent cinema, but for many months now, China’s ruling Communist Party has been tightening the screws on dissenting views, including movies from outside the highly monitored and heavily regulated Chinese film industry.
Critic Li Xianting, one of the organizers of the Beijing Independent Film Festival, told The Associated Press that police searched his office and confiscated materials he had gathered over more than 10 years.
The organizers said they had been repeatedly warned to cancel the festival, which was supposed to run until the end of the month.
Li and the festival’s artistic director, Wang Hongwei, who is a regular in Jia Zhangke movies, were later detained by police, according to tweets by their supporters.
The festival has taken place on and off since 2006 in the Beijing suburb of Songzhuang, home to many artists’ studios and galleries, but has faced repeated pressure from the government.
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