Director slams unwritten film censorship rules in mainland

Mainland director Xie Fei made a scathing attack on film censorship, saying "unwritten rules" against taboo subjects in movies stifled the industry.

The 70-year-old filmmaker and Beijing Film Academy professor published an open letter on his Sina Weibo account on Saturday, appealing for the censors to be replaced by a proper film-rating system.

Xie showed his frustration by citing a film, on which he served as an artistic adviser, that was deemed "problematic" because it had gay characters and had scenes showing Lin Liguo, the son of disgraced ex-Communist leader Lin Biao , who was Mao Zedong's right-hand man.

The film, which Xie did not name, has been under review by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (Sarft) since August. It is about a girl who denounces Lin Liguo's way of choosing brides, and who falls in love with a male dancer who is gay.

"They said the film shows some frames of [the Lins], which … must be deleted," Xie said. "How can it be taboo 20 years after the 1992 film Zhou Enlai showed scenes of Lin Biao and Lin Liguo?"

The director also criticised unwritten bans against ghosts, homosexuality, time travel, adultery and sensitive political incidents. "An official from Sarft once told me that gays cannot be shown in films," Xie wrote in the letter.