‘Winnie the Pooh’ horror movie’s screening scrapped from Hong Kong cinemas
4 min readBy Associated Press
HONG KONG: Public screenings of a slasher movie that options Winnie the Pooh have been scrapped abruptly in Hong Kong on Tuesday, sparking discussions over growing censorship within the metropolis.
Film distributor VII Pillars Entertainment introduced on Facebook that the discharge of “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” on Thursday had been canceled with “great regret” in Hong Kong and neighboring Macao.
The distributor mentioned it was notified by cinemas that they might not present the movie as scheduled, however it did not know why. The cinema chains concerned didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
For many residents, the Winnie the Pooh character is a playful taunt of China’s President Xi Jinping and Chinese censors prior to now had briefly banned social media searches for the bear within the nation. In 2018, the movie “Christopher Robin,” additionally that includes Winnie the Pooh, was reportedly denied a launch in China.
The movie being pulled in Hong Kong has prompted concern on social media over the territory’s shrinking freedoms.
The film was initially set to be proven in about 30 cinemas in Hong Kong, VII Pillars Entertainment wrote final week.
The Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration mentioned it had accredited the movie and preparations by native cinemas to display accredited movies “are the commercial decisions of the cinemas concerned.” It refused to touch upon such preparations.
A screening initially scheduled for Tuesday night time in a single cinema was canceled as a consequence of “technical reasons,” the organizer mentioned on Instagram.
A poster artwork for the movie “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey.” (Photo | AP)
Kenny Ng, a professor at Hong Kong Baptist University’s academy of movie, refused to invest on the explanation behind the cancellation, however advised the mechanism of silencing criticism gave the impression to be resorting to business selections.
Hong Kong is a former British colony that returned to China’s rule in 1997, promising to retain its Western-style freedoms. But China imposed a nationwide safety regulation following huge pro-democracy protests in 2019, silencing or jailing many dissidents.
In 2021, the federal government tightened tips and approved censors to ban movies believed to have breached the sweeping regulation.
Ng mentioned the town noticed extra instances of censorship over the past two years, principally focusing on non-commercial films, resembling impartial brief movies.
“When there is a red line, then there are more taboos,” he mentioned.
HONG KONG: Public screenings of a slasher movie that options Winnie the Pooh have been scrapped abruptly in Hong Kong on Tuesday, sparking discussions over growing censorship within the metropolis.
Film distributor VII Pillars Entertainment introduced on Facebook that the discharge of “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” on Thursday had been canceled with “great regret” in Hong Kong and neighboring Macao.
The distributor mentioned it was notified by cinemas that they might not present the movie as scheduled, however it did not know why. The cinema chains concerned didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.googletag.cmd.push(perform() googletag.show(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); );
For many residents, the Winnie the Pooh character is a playful taunt of China’s President Xi Jinping and Chinese censors prior to now had briefly banned social media searches for the bear within the nation. In 2018, the movie “Christopher Robin,” additionally that includes Winnie the Pooh, was reportedly denied a launch in China.
The movie being pulled in Hong Kong has prompted concern on social media over the territory’s shrinking freedoms.
The film was initially set to be proven in about 30 cinemas in Hong Kong, VII Pillars Entertainment wrote final week.
The Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration mentioned it had accredited the movie and preparations by native cinemas to display accredited movies “are the commercial decisions of the cinemas concerned.” It refused to touch upon such preparations.
A screening initially scheduled for Tuesday night time in a single cinema was canceled as a consequence of “technical reasons,” the organizer mentioned on Instagram.
A poster artwork for the movie “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey.” (Photo | AP)
Kenny Ng, a professor at Hong Kong Baptist University’s academy of movie, refused to invest on the explanation behind the cancellation, however advised the mechanism of silencing criticism gave the impression to be resorting to business selections.
Hong Kong is a former British colony that returned to China’s rule in 1997, promising to retain its Western-style freedoms. But China imposed a nationwide safety regulation following huge pro-democracy protests in 2019, silencing or jailing many dissidents.
In 2021, the federal government tightened tips and approved censors to ban movies believed to have breached the sweeping regulation.
Ng mentioned the town noticed extra instances of censorship over the past two years, principally focusing on non-commercial films, resembling impartial brief movies.
“When there is a red line, then there are more taboos,” he mentioned.
