A Thursday announcement revealed that the epic 2014 Chinese feature film "Gone with the Bullets" will compete in this year's Berlin International Film Festival.
Directed by Jiang Wen, the controversial film will be shown alongside films by notable directors like Werner Herzog at the 65th annual Berlin event, which will be held from Feb. 5-15.
Jiang's film caused a stir with the Chinese censorship board after particular scenes, which were not disclosed to the public, were considered inappropriate. The issue led to a postponement of the premiere, which was delayed by just over a week until it was shown on a specially built IMAX screen at Beijing's Olympic Sports Center.
Prior to the difficulties experienced by the director with his sequel to "Let the Bullets Fly," he was prevented from working for several years in the Chinese film industry by a government ban, which was enforced in response to "Devils on the Doorstep," his 2000 motion picture. On that occasion, he was punished for submitting the film to the Cannes Film Festival without the prior approval of the Film Bureau.
In addition to Herzog, a number of other esteemed and longtime filmmakers have been selected by the festival. Jiang will be in competition against a list of talent that includes Kenneth Branagh, Peter Greenaway and Terrence Malick.
However, Jiang will not be the only eastern Asian director in Berlin in February, as Vietnam's Di Phan Dang has also been chosen to appear with his film "Big Father, Small Father and Other Stories." Di Phan Dang's previous film, "Bi, Don't Be Afraid," played at Cannes in 2010, where it was awarded two prizes.
The complete program of the Berlin festival will be announced next week.