Directors pull plug on movies
MELBOURNE: Seven Chinese filmmakers have now withdrawn their movies from the 58th Melbourne International Film Festival to protest the visit of Uygur separatist Rebiya Kadeer and the screening of a documentary about her, the festival's spokeswoman, Asha Holmes, told Xinhua News Agency on Sunday.
The directors of the seven films each expressed strong condemnation of the decision by the festival organizers to invite Kadeer, who is leader of the World Uygur Congress, a group that believed responsible for the deadly July 5 riot in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.
The films that have been withdrawn include offerings from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Among the films that will not be seen are Cry Me a River by Jia Zhangke, Petition by Zhao Liang and Perfect Life by Emily Tang.
