HK directors may be banned over unauthorised filming

Two Hong Kong directors and three mainland actors they used may be banned from the screen in China for making films without official permission.

Fruit Chan, director of Durian, Durian, Stanley Kwan, director of Lan Yu, and up-and-coming mainlanders Qin Hailu, Hu Jun and Liu Ye could all be barred from making films on the mainland, according to the Shanghai Morning Post.

The decision stems from an emergency meeting at the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television to discuss the two movies.

'They are all in violation of the regulations,' said an official of the government body that is responsible for the broadcasting sector.

Asked specifically if a ban would be put in place, he said: 'Take a look at the relevant regulations.' Those rules state that the artists could be banned for five years.

Both films deal with subject matter that would have been considered sensitive by mainland film authorities.

Durian, Durian, filmed in Hong Kong and the economically depressed province of Heilongjiang, tells the story of a mainland prostitute in Hong Kong.