Jiang-Wen.jpg (Photo : China Daily)
A manifesto issued by China's Film Directors Guild calls for an overhaul of the entire film industry which includes a rating system that would give films censorship leeway. The Guild aslo stated that the rating system can also be used in screening Hollywood films entering China.
Earlier this month, in a meeting among China, Taiwan and Hong Kong's top directors that include He Ping, Li Shaodong, Gu Changwei and Hou Hsiao-hsien, the Guild appealed for a change in the censorship regulations and pushed the rating system as alternative.
At present, China censorship laws only allow films for all ages to be screened in public. In cases of movies not suitable for young viewers, the Film Bureau decides about the cuts necessary.
The Guild believes that the rating system would give directors more leeway in matters of censorship and thus allowing for a better scope when making movies. Aside from this, it would give Hollywood a chance to enter China by screening its movies to adult viewers.
The Guild made a controversial move last year when it refused to award a best director for any movie because, according to the award giving body, all the movies screened were all of low standard and poor quality.
The Guild is accusing the film industry to be over-focused on the quantity, rather than the quality of the movies being produced. Filmmakers said that box-office sales is treated as more important than the cultural aspects of the movies.
The Guild's manifesto called for the following: (1) films that would stand time by leaving a cultural imprint; (2) rating system; (3) self-regulation among filmmakers to make quality films; (4) set-up indie cinemas in colleges and universities for screening of classic films as well as documentaries and art-house; and (5) innovation of films in matters of audience and aesthetics.
China Independent Film Festival, as well as some well-known Chinese filmmakers including Wang Xiaoshuai, Gao Qunshu and Tung-Shing Yee, all expressed their support by re-tweeting the Guild's manifesto in China's biggest social media site Sina Weibo.
