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‘Emotional power’: China’s Covid wounds reopened in tense, divisive ‘An Unfinished Film’

  • Long after lockdowns ended, acclaimed director Lou Ye’s independent film revives heated debate about China’s controversial zero-Covid policy
  • Critics label Lou a ‘traitor’ for the movie, which debuted at Cannes and is unlikely to be seen in China

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The ghosts of Covid past reemerge in “An Unfinished Film”. Photo: Handout
Yuanyue Dangin Beijing
A new independent Chinese movie – about an unfinished film that focuses on unfinished business during the pandemic – has turned the spotlight back on Covid-19 and China’s response to a pandemic that has left deep divisions in society.
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An Unfinished Film, by director Lou Ye – who is known for his straightforward portrayals of problematic events in contemporary China, including the controversial Covid lockdowns that began in Wuhan in early 2020 – was shown at a special screening on May 16 at the annual Cannes Film Festival in France.

The movie has not been approved for public screenings in China and it is doubtful it would be, according to industry insiders, as content related to the film has already been removed from the internet there. However, those efforts had not stopped nationalistic condemnation of the film, with some labelling the director a “traitor” who panders to the West.

Much of the film focuses on the mobile phone screen of a film crew member character. On the phone, the audience sees actual news reports and short videos that were posted during the Covid-19 pandemic in China between 2020 and 2022 – most of which were later removed by censors.
Nationalist online commenters have argued that Lou’s film was intended as a critique of China’s zero-Covid policy – which included mandatory testing, quarantine and strict border controls – and was “in line with Western criticism” of China’s human rights record and political system.
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It was not clear if any of the commenters had seen the film.

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