Chinese delegates withdraw from attending Sheffield Doc/Fest after a request to cancel screenings of Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry and High Tech, Low Life were refused by festival organisers
The tagline on the official Sheffield Doc/Fest satchel says: "The Truth Lies In Here". That slogan was put to the test this week after a delegation of Chinese commissioning editors pulled out of attending the festival after their embassy in London requested the cancellation of screenings of Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry and High Tech, Low Life – two films critical of the Chinese government.
After weeks of discussions, described as "tense and difficult" by festival director Heather Croall, the embassy announced that the 10 delegates – due to be the first group of industry insiders the country had sent to the festival – would no longer be attending. The official reason for the cancellation, as cited by documentary film website Real Screen , is a restriction on the number of trips the delegates are allowed to make to Europe. Croall has described this explanation as "bizarre". The Chinese embassy did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.
"Editorial independence is what a documentary festival is all about," Croall told the Guardian. "The idea that we could censor our programme because of the request of one delegation is crazy." Posters dotted around the Doc/Fest site announced the Chinese delegates' no-show. They say the festival organisers are "very disappointed" with the decision.
Croall said that concern over the festival's lineup from the Chinese had been running at a low level for weeks, but that an explicit request to cancel the screenings had only been voiced on Tuesday. "We were under a lot of pressure and resisted it," she said. "We don't shy away from controversy in general."
Sheffield Doc/Fest, now in its 19th year, will welcome delegates from over 40 countries around the world before it comes to a close on 17 June. Croall is keen to encourage international collaboration. "Of course we wanted the delegates to come," she said. "We believe in the power of co-production, we want to facilitate it. But we weren't going to be censored."