In a latest crackdown by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) across borders, the first annual “IndieChina Film Festival” scheduled to open today (November 8) in New York has been cancelled. Zhu Rikun, the founder and director, stated that participants of the film festival have been facing harassment from unknown forces. Human rights organizations point out that this is a new example of international repression by the CCP and urge governments around the world to address and combat Chinese censorship.
On November 6, Zhu Rikun issued an urgent statement on the social platform Facebook, announcing the cancellation of this year’s film festival. The public screenings, forums, and workshops have been called off. For the few individuals who had not received the message and showed up at the event, only internal receptions will be arranged, with no public access. The ticketing system has been closed, and refunds for ticket holders will be processed promptly.
In his statement, Zhu Rikun expressed that it was an immensely painful decision. Given the ongoing circumstances, if he continued with the film festival, anyone participating, including directors, forum participants, peripheral individuals, volunteers, and even audience members, could face threats or harassment.
The film festival involves numerous participants and viewers, and their safety is his top priority at this moment.
Zhu Rikun reiterated that the organization of this year’s film festival is simple, without any complex background. All funding for the festival comes from himself, with no support from any other institutions; sporadic online donations have not exceeded a total of $1000 so far. As an independent filmmaker and organizer, he is not affiliated with any other organizations in China or elsewhere.
Following the cancellation of the film festival, Zhu Rikun will only host a private gathering for himself and personal friends. He has already paid for a week’s venue rental, which will now be used solely for private gatherings. He hopes that those involved will understand this arrangement and not consider it an extension of the film festival.
On November 5, Zhu Rikun shared on Facebook that around 5 a.m. Beijing time on October 30, his father called, asking if he was okay and not involved in any activities deemed unfavorable to the country, with a strange tone, cautioning him not to engage in anything harmful to the nation.
Subsequently, a lady staying at his studio in Beijing, who usually helps with miscellaneous tasks, was taken away by relevant authorities, threatened not to assist him in any matter, and was told that once Zhu Rikun returned to China, they would “handle” him legally. The lady was asked to relay this information to Zhu Rikun and respond to the authorities.
Over the following two days, IndieChina Film Festival’s work email received letters from nearly all directors still in China, citing personal reasons to cancel their trips to New York for the festival and demanding the immediate withdrawal of their films from screening. Some even requested the deletion of all information and promotions related to their films, including previously released content on social media or other platforms.
The family members of directors from the U.S., Europe, Africa participating in forums or discussions and external individuals hosting post-screening discussions were investigated or interfered with in China.
Zhu Rikun stated that a screening venue received an anonymous letter claiming to be from “a group of Chinese students living in New York,” stating that the films scheduled to be shown there “might not accurately reflect the real situation of contemporary Chinese society” and requesting the cancellation of festival activities. Volunteers assisting him in the U.S. resigned from all duties due to threats to their families. To date, no entity or individual has informed him of specific reasons or crimes that led to this series of events.
The “IndieChina Film Festival” initially planned to screen more than forty films, featuring a special screening of the 2019 Hong Kong protest documentary “If We Burn” by Hong Kong directors James Leong and Lynn Lee, and invited 22 directors to participate in exchanges.
Zhu Rikun is an independent filmmaker who has served as a judge at numerous film festivals internationally, including the Hong Kong International Film Festival. In 2013, he produced “Checking,” documenting his and his friends’ journey to support an independent candidate in Xinyu, Jiangxi in July 2012 but were subjected to a police raid at their hotel in the early morning.
Human Rights Watch issued a statement, highlighting that the CCP has cracked down on domestic independent films for over a decade, leading to the forced cancellation of three major independent Chinese film festivals – “China Independent Film Exhibition,” “Yunnan Multi Culture Visual Festival,” and “Beijing Independent Film Exhibition.” This suppression by the CCP is now extending overseas, with increasingly severe cross-border repression. Human Rights Watch calls on governments worldwide to address and resist Chinese censorship.
Yalkun Uluyol, a China research associate at Human Rights Watch, pointed out that the CCP government has reached into New York and shut down a film festival. This latest transnational crackdown by the Chinese government demonstrates attempts to control how the world perceives and discusses China.