Director scorns 'laughable' laws

Lou was banned for five years after he screened the epic love story at Cannes without government permission.

But he has continued to defy the censors by screening the movie around the world, and plans to show it at South Korea's Pusan festival.

"This is a very laughable thing," he told the Associated Press news agency.

"I think participating in film festivals is an artist's basic right, like taking part in an art exhibition or a book exhibition."

Pro-democracy protests

Lou wants China's censors to operate a more open system, with their names and proceedings made public, and meetings open to film-makers.

"The Chicago film festival will show it, I was in Toronto, there's Pusan and a film festival in southern Germany"
Lou Ye on Summer Palace

"These are all very reasonable demands from a director or producer who invests so much money and turns over the fate of his or her movie," he said.

Summer Palace, which is set around the time of 1989's pro-democracy protests, still has not been approved by Chinese censors.

As a result, Lou is unable to make films in China after he screened the film at Cannes in May, in violation of rules laid down by the country's Film Bureau.

"If you want to talk about violations, let me see how many there have been. The Chicago film festival will show it. I was in Toronto. There's Pusan and a film festival in southern Germany," he added.

Another of Lou's four films, Suzhou River, has also not been passed by censors.

But Lou - who has offered to make cuts to Summer Palace - is unrepentant.

"It's better than the other scenario, that is, I feel that I'm lying after I make the movie or that I feel that I didn't do a good job, or I could have done a good job but I couldn't do many things because I had to cater to censors," he said.

RELATED INTERNET LINKS
Suzhou River - BBC Four
Pusan International Film Festival
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