'I'm happy that my film is no longer forbidden and now I can make films openly," said Wang Xiaoshuai, director of the once-banned film Beijing Bicycle (Shi Qi Sui De Dan Che).

In 2001, Beijing Bicycle snatched Grand Jury Prize (Silver Bear Award) and the New Talent Award for its co-stars Cui Lin and Li Bin at the Berlin Int'l Film Festival. However, the film board of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) announced that the film was sent to the film festival without passing its scrutiny, according to state regulations. Therefore the film was not allowed to be released in China and its director Wang Xiaoshuai was disallowed from making films for an entire year. Wang Xiaoshuai was then referred to as an "underground director" and his work dubbed an "underground film."

Recently, Beijing Bicycle's cameraman, Liu Jie, confirmed that the film had been sent to the film board again and had passed its examination. With eight modifications and a truncated title of Bicycle, the film was approved to be screened on the Chinese mainland.

Filmed from April 2000, Beijing Bicycle tells the story of Gui (starred by Cui Lin), a boy from the countryside who lands a job as an express bicycle courier. He looks forward to earning the right to keep his shiny new bicycle, but it gets stolen and turns up in the hands of Jian (starred by Li Bin), a middle-class high school student. A battle for the bike ensues, with unforeseeable consequences.

Beijing Bicycle was jointly financed by Chinese and overseas companies. After the film was finished, the investors promoted it globally and the premiere was scheduled in Berlin. Wang received an invitation from the Berlin Int'l Film Festival and was hurried to send the film to the SARFT for examination as law stipulates. But he failed to do so before releasing the film to the film festival.

According to Wang, he did submit the film for examination and the film board gave some suggestions for revision. However, he gave up the efforts for a license fearing that the revision and reexamination process would be too slow to finish in time.

According to the interim regulations governing movie production, distribution and projection effective as of December 1, 2003, films are encouraged to be sent to foreign film festivals but only if they first obtain a permit for release from the SARFT and are put on record. Beijing Bicycle got the chance of reexamination and release thanks to the new provision. A shift in policy wording from "must be approved" to "put on record" indicates a reasonable relaxation of the Chinese film censorship.

On November 13, 2003, the film board of SARFT held a work conference in Beijing. Among the attendees were also several "underground directors" like Wang Xiaoshuai and Jia Zhangke, director of films Xiaowu, Platform and Unknown Pleasures. This meeting is widely considered as an illustration of the SARFT's new attitude toward "underground filmmakers": guiding rather than strangling in order to allow them to be a vitalizing force in the Chinese film industry.

"Recently, many new policies concerning the Chinese film industry have taken effect and young directors as well as teachers and students in film colleges may not fully understand the changes," noted Wu Ke, deputy director of the SARFT Film Board at the meeting. He added that the meeting was designed to facilitate communication between industry regulators and average filmmakers.

Wu does not think that "underground directors" are a special group and hopes they "can properly position themselves and that they do not isolate themselves from Chinese films."

After Beijing Bicycle, some other "underground films" are expected to be approved for public show this year according to the new regulations. Also, some "controversial films" that have been held up can get the go ahead to start shooting. In 2005, Chinese film will celebrate its 100th birthday. For the moment, people are longing for a real rejuvenation of the struggling industry.

China's annual theater admissions of filmgoer topped 30 billion in the early 1980s. But in recent years, a growing number of people have stopped going to theaters. Box office revenue dropped to several hundred million yuan from billions at its peak. Embarrassingly, the bulk of the revenue came from foreign films such as Hollywood blockbusters. Partially accounting for this slump in movie attendance may be diversified entertainment tastes. But problems with filmmaking and relevant policies are also undeniable.

Today, reform of Chinese film policies is going deeper than before. Film authorities are firmly resolved to tap the potential movie market.

Many strong measures have been taken that will significantly improve the environment in the Chinese film industry. In late 2003, the SARFT issued four documents in order to promote development of the Chinese film industry. According to these documents, the film board is no longer the only body that checks films.

Film authorities in Shanghai Municipality and Guangdong, Jiangsu and Jilin provinces where China's key film studios are located are authorized to examine films and confer licenses for release themselves except for those dealing with "important topics" (such as the course of the Chinese revolution and the lives of state leaders), documentaries and films jointly produced by Chinese and foreign producers.

Under the revised provisions, if Wang Xiaoshuai wants to make a Chinese film at present, he only need to submit an outline of the film rather than a script to get a record and a permit for production. After the film is finished, he can send it for examination to the SARFT or provincial film authorities authorized. Passing the examination, he can get permit for release with approval documents among other materials.

"The examination reform will simplify procedures, reduce costs and increase efficiency," said Zhang Weiping, President of Beijing New Picture Co. Ltd. and producer of Director Zhang Yimou's box office behemoth Hero in 2002.

"Chinese movies will establish a market-oriented operation mechanism, which is the main purpose of the recent adjustment to Chinese film policies," said Wu Ke. He pointed out that functions of films are changing, focusing more on entertaining people than educating them.

"The policy adjustment will bring the audiences more choices in theaters," Wu predicted. 

(Beijing Review February 18, 2004)