No show for hutong doc

No show for hutong doc

• Source: Global Times
• [08:20 March 17 2011]
• Comments

By Li Shuang

The screening of a 30-minute mini-documentary depicting the capital's challenge of preserving its cultural heritage and architecture was canceled abruptly Wednesday for lacking authorities' approval, according to an anonymous source.

The Fate of Old Beijing - A Vanishing World, is a three-part documentary by Jonah Kessel and Kit Gillet exploring the realities and future of Beijing's vanishing hutong. A screening of the film, originally scheduled for this Saturday at the Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center (CHP), was canceled Wednesday.

A post published on the center's official blog Wednesday said the screening was canceled "due to time and logistical constraints".

"There was too little time and we rushed too much with the planning," the center's PR manager Wu Qiong told the Global Times Wednesday.

There are no current plans to reschedule the event, which also included a discussion panel with scholars in a Fangjia Hutong studio capable of holding about 100 guests.

However, a person with intimate knowledge of the situation told the Global Times that the event was canceled due to a failure to obtain approval from the authorities first.

"After announcing the event, the police requested a review of the film before it could be shown to the public. The police will not give an answer (yes or no) in the current time frame for Saturday's screening," the source told the Global Times by e-mail.

"The films take on a neutral perspective, with the filmmakers giving a voice to many parties. What those parties say may or may not be what the government wants published or presented without their opinion interjected," the source said.

Beijing police spokesperson Zi Xiangdong told the Global Times Wednesday that a gathering of 100 people does qualify as a large-scale event, but he did not know why permission to host the screening might be delayed.

Wu denied that outside influences were a factor in the cancellation.

Kessel did not find out about the cancellation until late Wednesday.

He told the Global Times he hoped people "can help share these videos and project to help create greater awareness and education of an issue that touches so many hearts."

The film will be available online sometime next week at the China Green portal of the educational institution Asia Society's website.