An autonomous film festival slated for launching in New York this weekend has been tersely cancelled after several movie makers dropped out — a decision which many of the event’s organisers and human rights activists say was prompted by pressure and bullying from the Chinese powers that be.
The IndieChina Film Festival, originally scheduled for Nov 8 to Nov 15, was meant to showcase independent voices exploring life and politics in modern China. Instead, it’s been scrapped entirely after 80 per cent of the scheduled films were withdrawn.
Festival curator Zhu Rikun announced the cancellation on Nov 5, saying he had been left with no choice. “Directors inside China told me they couldn’t participate,” Zhu wrote on Facebook. “Those abroad said their families back home had been contacted by the authorities.”
According to Zhu, one of his colleagues in Beijing was detained and warned not to work with him further. One New York venue also reportedly received an anonymous letter from a group claiming to be Chinese students, demanding that the screenings be cancelled.
By Thursday, the pressure had become impossible to ignore.
“If I do not suspend this edition of the film festival, anyone involved — directors, participants, staff, or even audience members — could face threats or harassment,” Zhu said in a public statement. “I cannot, in good conscience, put anyone at risk — whether the danger is real or fabricated.”
Human rights experts say the episode highlights the growing reach of Beijing’s efforts to silence dissent abroad.
“The Chinese government reached around the globe to shut down a film festival in New York City,” said Yalkun Uluyol, a researcher with Human Rights Watch. “This latest act of transnational repression shows Beijing’s determination to control what the world sees and learns about China.”
Zhu is no stranger to state scrutiny. A veteran of China’s once-vibrant independent film movement, he has watched that scene all but disappear since the mid-2010s, when authorities tightened their grip on unsanctioned cultural spaces. In 2014, China’s leading independent film festival was forcibly shut down, and its entire archive confiscated.
The pressure on filmmakers has only intensified. Earlier this year, documentary director Chen Pinlin was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for chronicling the 2022 “white paper” protests — one of China’s rare mass demonstrations against government censorship.
The ripple effects of Beijing’s censorship are increasingly global. In August, an art portico in Bangkok purportedly conformed to Chinese embassy wishes to eliminate works referencing Tibet, Hong Kong, and Xinjiang — areas believed to be politically sensitive by Beijing.
The cancellation of IndieChina has sparked outrage among free speech advocates, who warn that China’s influence is no longer confined to its borders.
“What happened in New York is chilling,” said one advocate. “When a government can suppress art halfway across the world, it’s not just a problem for filmmakers — it’s a threat to everyone who believes in free expression.”
