Director Lou Ye could be banned from making movies on the mainland for five years for allowing his controversial film Summer Palace to compete in the Cannes Film Festival without the state censor's approval.
Zhou Jiandong , director of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television's film bureau, told the Shenzhen Evening News that the crew 'would definitely' be punished.
The film has captured international headlines because of its backdrop of the 1989 Tiananmen Square student protests and its explicit sex scenes.
The report - posted on Xinhua's website yesterday - said that under regulations introduced in 2002, candidates running in overseas film competitions and exhibitions without approval would not be allowed to take part in any filming activities for five years.
Last night, Fang Li, one of the film's producers, appeared resigned when asked about the ban.
'I hope we don't have to go through this. But we haven't received any official notice, so we don't know exactly how it will turn out,' he said.
