China’s short films must now follow script for overseas screenings, with new rules from regulator

Producers of all movies made in China must now follow existing approval rules if they wish to show their works abroad

China’s Communist Party

Vanessa Caiin Shanghai

Published: 6:24pm, 5 Jul 2024

Why you can trust SCMP

China’s top film regulator has ordered that all Chinese movies strictly follow rules on approvals before being screened in overseas film festivals, months after a Chinese movie about Covid lockdowns triggered heated discussion at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

In a notice issued on Thursday, the China Film Administration said all domestically produced short films could only appear at foreign film festivals or exhibitions if they obtained permits for public screenings. The film producers must also file records with regulators at least 20 working days in advance of the overseas screening.

The film management and censorship body repeated the existing rules on feature films, and added that producers of short films – which were not previously covered under the regulations – must also follow the same rules if they planned to show their work overseas.

Earlier this year, acclaimed director Lou Ye’s independent movie, An Unfinished Film, revived questions about China’s controversial zero-Covid policy, following its release at a special screening on May 16 at the annual Cannes Film Festival in France.

The film has not been approved for public screenings in China and is unlikely to be seen in the country as its content has been censored on the internet.

Chinese director Lou Ye made the film An Unfinished Business about life in lockdown. Photo: AFP

Nationalist commentators labelled Lou a “traitor” and argued that the film was intended as a critique of China’s response to the pandemic. But others praised the film as a vivid depiction of some of the tragedies caused by Beijing’s harsh zero-Covid rules.

Filmmakers and domestic audiences have long complained about Beijing’s strict censorship rules that target any content deemed politically sensitive or morally incorrect, rules that are often vague and can lead to self-censorship.

The China Film Administration’s statement said all films must seek approval from their provincial film regulators or the national bureau where the projects were registered. The submissions must provide details of the overseas event as well as a copy of the screening permit.

According to a document accompanying the notice, applications for short films should also include a summary of the content.

The new scrutiny over short films is in line with rules spelled out in a 2004 regulation and the country’s Film Industry Promotion Law, which was enacted in 2017.

The law stipulated that the aim was to promote “socialist core values”, ban content deemed as “endangering national unity” or “harming national dignity, honour, or interests”. It also published fines for films screened without a government permit, adding that violators could be banned from filmmaking for up to five years.

Lou, whose films are known for depicting social issues and problematic events in China, has twice been banned following screenings at overseas film festivals that had not been officially approved.

In 2018, Beijing also tightened its ideological grip by shifting responsibility for all media regulations – including film censorship – from the State Council to the Communist Party’s propaganda department.

In early 2019, director Zhang Yimou’s film One Second, which was set in the Cultural Revolution, was abruptly withdrawn from the Berlin film festival for “technical reasons”, prompting speculation that the move was due to pressure from China’s government.