Taiwan has protested to the Venice film festival authorities for wrongly listing a film vying for the Golden Lion award as co-produced by China, local media said Saturday. “Seediq Bale,” an epic tale of Taiwan’s indigenous tribes fighting against Japanese colonial forces in the 1930s, is among 22 films in the running for the prestigious award this year. But Taipei was indignant after the film was attributed to “China-Taiwan” when the nomination was announced Friday even though it was solely funded and produced by Taiwan.
Taiwan’s Government Information Office and the film’s producer have protested to the festival’s organisers and demanded a correction. It was not the first time Taiwanese films had been wrongly attributed at international film festivals due to the ongoing political tug-of-war between Taiwan and China, it said. The name issue has long been a sensitive topic for the island and its giant neighbour, which split in 1949 at the end of a civil war.
Last year, China pulled out of the Tokyo International Film Festival after organisers refused to change the name of Taiwan’s delegation to “China Taiwan” or “Chinese Taipei”. Taiwan reacted angrily and warned that the move could damage recently warming ties between the former bitter rivals. Beijing still regards the island as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.
