Canadian film pulled from Beijing festival over 'politics'

A Canadian filmmaker says an invitation to have her work screened at the Beijing International Film Festival has been rescinded over political tensions between China and Canada.

Maja Zdanowski was “ecstatic” when she received word on Monday that her debut film “In God I Trust” would be screened in the Forward Future category of the festival in April. She was also offered a round-trip flight and accommodation to attend the screening.

But the euphoria did not last long.

Two days later Zdanowski received an email from the co-ordinator of the Forward Future committee, which she provided to CTVNews.ca.

“We are really sorry, though we both like your film but because of the politics we can’t receive the Canada film this year," the email read.

Zdanowski pushed for answers and was told Friday by the same BIFF official: “We have made every effort, but as you know, the censorship in China is very strict and the standards are constantly changing. We tried many ways to get the film through but failed. It’s not the film itself that has political problems, it’s going abroad (I’m sure you’ve heard about Huawei.) So we are very sorry.”

That is a reference to Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of the giant Chinese technology firm Huawei, who was detained by Canadian officials in Vancouver on Dec. 1. Court proceedings are underway in British Columbia regarding her extradition to the United States to face allegations she conspired to violate sanctions against Iran.

The case has made headlines in China and Chinese officials have repeatedly demanded her release. Since Meng was detained, China detained two Canadians who were working in the country and halted canola shipments from Canada -- moves largely regarded as retaliatory.

It is unclear whether the BIFF is accepting any Canadian films. The festival does not appear to categorize films by country on its website.

Zdanowski submitted her self-funded film through the Telefilm Canada portal that helps filmmakers submit to international film festivals.

CTVNews.ca has reached out to the Beijing Film Festival, but has yet to hear back.

“To get accepted there, at this massively huge festival, was an opportunity of a lifetime for me,” Zdanowski said in a phone interview with CTVNews.ca. She says representatives of Telefilm Canada were “shocked” to hear of the reversal.

Telefilm Canada told CTVNews.ca that it "simply facilitate the submissions of Canadian films" to the festival and does not have "any more details to provide" on Zdanowski's case.

“In God I Trust” weaves together three stories set in a town in northern Idaho. Zdanowski says it confronts issues of racism, religion and gun violence.

“It has nothing to do with politics between China and Canada,” she said. “As a filmmaker, I shouldn’t be caught up in this fight between countries.”

Zdanowski co-wrote, directed and edited the film, which was shot on weekends over 18 months while she worked her full-time job in post-production for television.

The movie has already been screened at film festivals in Whistler, B.C. and Omaha, Neb. It’s being screened next week at the Beverly Hills Film Festival and at the European Independent Film Festival in Paris.

It has been nominated for the Borsos Award for Best Canadian Feature, the Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for best female-directed film and has won the Stars to Watch award for the lead actor’s performance.

The film was to be shown among 17 others in the Forward Future category at the BIFF.

The Forward Future section “is established with the objectives to discover fresh filmmakers, hunt for the future trends of global film industry, encourage the spirits of innovation in filmmaking and display a culture diversity of film art,” reads the letter Zdanowski received.

Zdanowski was born in Warsaw but her parents fled Poland in 1981, fearing communism, when she was a baby. She lived in Johannesburg until she was nine, when her parents immigrated to Canada. She grew up in London, Ont. and studied communications and video production at the University of Windsor.

She worked in television in Vancouver for 14 years, before moving to Toronto in December to pursue her film career.

“I’m super proud that my film is being shown to film festival audiences, but it’s so disappointing about Beijing. It was a chance to showcase Canadian talent to people there.”

The Beijing film festival is in its ninth year and bills itself “as the city's most internationally influential large-scale cultural event, a major platform for global exchange, a bellwether of the film market, an incubator for new filmmakers and new productions, and a new brand of Beijing culture.”

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