· April, 2013

Stories about Film from April, 2013

The Russian Opposition “Snake Pit”

RuNet Echo  20 April 2013

The Russian opposition is at war with itself, and it’s thanks to more than the usual ideological tectonics. The various fault lines that infamously allow the Kremlin to “divide and conquer” Russia’s would-be saviors are indeed political, but the divisions are every bit as much about idiosyncrasies and shady dealings. Just look at May 6.

China Censors Film Director's Censorship Slam

  19 April 2013

Feng Xiaogang, one of the most famous movie directors in China, when giving a speech when he accepted the honor of Director of Year from the China Film Directors Guild on 12 April, criticized the censorship system in Chinese movie industry. However, in the video showing his speech, the word...

China's Anti-Japanese TV War Dramas Knocked for Vulgarity

  14 April 2013

The Chinese entertainment industry's incessant production of anti-Japanese TV dramas, under the scrutiny of netizens for a while now, has hit a nerve with China's state-controlled media after two photographs from a war drama showing a nude girl saluting a group of Chinese soldiers leaked online.

China Pulls ‘Django Unchained’

  11 April 2013

Chinese cinemas cancelled all screenings of Quentin Tarantino's “Django Unchained” last minute on April 11 due to “technical reasons”. Netizens think the theme on freedom is the main reason for the cancellation. Journalist Wu Yonggang wrote[zh] on Sina Weibo, which translated as: The technical issue is a small problem, the bigger...

Chinese Authorities Cancel Indie Film Festival

  10 April 2013

The Yunnan Multi-Cultural Festival, one of the most important platforms for independent documentary film in China, has been cancelled by authorities without offering an explanation. Cui Weiping, social critic and professor at the Beijing Film Academy, expressed her disappointment on Sina Weibo. She thinks cancellation of this sort of film forum...

VIDEO: Guinea-Bissau Community Radio Serves People, Not Politics

  6 April 2013

Guinea-Bissau's community radio does much more than fill local airwaves with music, according to the documentary "Voice of the Population". Stations have saved lives during a cholera outbreak, fought against illegal logging, and pushed back against gender discrimination, all the while uniting local communities around the rich musicality of Guinea-Bissau.

Jamaica: Rehabilitation History

  5 April 2013

Active Voice says that a new film about an innovative rehabilitation programme that uses music as a tool, fails to acknowledge Jamaica's “rich history” in “cutting edge” prison rehabilitation methods, thereby missing an opportunity to “to provide some of the fascinating background to a restorative justice initiative that needs to...