Taiwan director Wei Te-sheng's wartime blockbuster "Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale," originally a two-part series lasting 4 1/2 hours, will begin screening on Chinese mainland in May in a condensed, 150-minute version.

The much-anticipated film, produced by John Woo, tells the story of a battle waged by the island's aboriginal Seediq people against the Japanese forces that ruled Taiwan from 1895 to 1945.

Wei came to fame in 2008 when his low-budget film "Cape No. 7" became a hit.

"As for the deleted parts, some were cut out of concerns for differing historical knowledge between the Taiwan and mainland audiences," Wei said on Wednesday at a media screening.

"Other scenes were cut in order to hasten the pace as well as to make the film fit for all audiences, as the mainland doesn't have a rating system."

Wei said "Bale" means true in the Seediq language, and the film title suggests the bravery and strength of Seediq men during the war.

After 12 years of preparation and an investment of NT$700 million (US$23.64 million), "Seediq Bale" is the first Taiwan film to tell the story of how the island's ethnic minorities resisted the Japanese invasion.

While breaking the island's box office record for Chinese-language films with ticket sales of NT$800 million, the film was selected as an entry in the main competition at the 68th Venice International Film Festival and also made its way onto the nine-film semifinal list for best foreign language film at the Academy Awards.

The film will be introduced into mainland cinemas under China's import policy for Taiwan films, the product of a major agreement signed in June 2010 to promote economic cooperation between the two sides.

Under the accord, Taiwan films that pass authorities' censorship requirements can be released in the mainland without being counted under the mainland's film import quota for overseas movies, essentially meaning that there is no limitation for the number of imported Taiwan films.

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