Tuesday November 14, 2006
Hong Kong distributor pulls Chinese film from Taiwanese festival
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP): A Hong Kong distributor has withdrawn a Chinese-made film from Taiwan's annual Golden Horse Film Festival, a Taiwanese official said on Tuesday, apparently under pressure from mainland officials.
Festival official Wang Ching-hua said he was informed by the Hong Kong office of film distributor Fortissimo that Chinese authorities did not want the film "The Go Master'' to be shown at the event, which takes place in Taipei Nov. 25.
Chang Chen, who plays the strategy game master in the film, was nominated last month for best actor at the festival and was considered a front-runner for the award.
Beijing routinely bans Chinese films from the Taiwan-hosted Mandarin-language movie festival because of its long-standing political feud with the island. The sides split amid civil war in 1949.
But with cultural exchanges on the increase, China has in recent years permitted films co-produced with Hong Kong, Taiwan and other places to participate at the festival.
Two years ago, "Kekexili,'' a Chinese movie about volunteers trying to protect Tibetan antelopes from poachers, won named best film at the festival. Its participation may have been helped by Chinese unwillingness to go against the wishes of Hollywood studios Sony Columbia and Warner Brothers, which invested in the film.
Wang said a number of other Chinese films have also participated at the festival, though they were produced by underground filmmakers over whom Beijing authorities had little control.
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