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Chinese film cleared for Berlin festival
2007-02-07
Authorities have approved a Chinese film about a massage parlor boss and one of his workers to compete at the Berlin International Film Festival after five revisions, the movie's producer said. Last week, Chinese censors rejected "Lost in Beijing," which is scheduled to screen in Berlin on Feb. 16. But filmmakers successfully lobbied officials to give it another chance. Producer Fang Li said censors watched a fifth version of the movie, directed by Li Yu, on Monday and approved it. Fang said earlier he had edited out a side character, scenes involving dirty streets, prostitutes, gambling, the Chinese national flag, as well as Beijing's Tiananmen Square, the site of a bloody military crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 1989. "It is a very painful process," he told The Associated Press by phone. Calls to China's Film Bureau seeking comment went unanswered Tuesday. Fang said 53 changes had been made and the 112-minute film had been cut by 15 minutes. "The story has been redirected. Some relationships have been completely cut out," he said. The Chinese government has tight control over media content. Officials only allow in about 20 foreign movies each year and scrutinize them carefully. All Chinese films need approval before they can be shown at foreign film festivals. Chinese director Lou Ye and producer Nai An were banned from making movies for five years after screening the love story "Summer Palace" at the Cannes Film Festival last year. Fang said "Lost in Beijing" ran into problems because of the conservative views of the older censors. "It's like old grandparents judging grandchildren's behavior. There's a lot of misunderstanding," he said. The Berlin International Film Festival was to open Thursday. It will end Feb. 18. ___ On the Net: Berlin International Film Festival: http://www.berlinale.de/en/HomePage.html
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