The director of the Palm Springs International Film Festival says two Chinese movies selected for the event have been withdrawn in response to the scheduled screenings of a documentary about the Dalai Lama and Tibet.
Darryl Macdonald says "City of Life and Death" and "Quick, Quick, Slow" were withdrawn from the 21st annual festival after organizers declined Chinese government representatives’ request to cancel screenings of "The Sun Behind the Clouds."
The documentary portrays a year in the life of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader whom Beijing accuses of seeking Tibetan independence from Chinese rule.
Meanwhile, a Chinese court has jailed a Tibetan filmmaker for six years after he made a documentary in which ordinary Tibetans praised the Dalai Lama and complained about how their culture had been trampled upon, campaigners said.
The film, "Leaving Fear Behind," features a series of interviews with Tibetans who talk about how they still love their exiled spiritual leader and think the Beijing Olympics did little to improve their lives.
Dhondup Wangchen and his monk friend, Golog Jigme, were detained shortly after finishing the film, but managed to smuggle tapes out of the country.
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