In China, culture is regulated by very strict censors, so it’s tough to release a movie with any content that might be deemed objectionable. But hopefully that’s all about to change.
The government that once famously banned “Brokeback Mountain” from being released has just approved a gay-themed movie for the first time ever. Called “Seek McCartney,” the film was produced in both China and France and stars Han Geng (pictured above) and Jeremy Elkaim as lovers, with celebrated Chinese director Wang Cho at the helm.
Gay men have appeared as supporting characters on Chinese movie screens before, but this the first time that a film specifically focused on the relationships between gay characters has made it past the censors. Homosexuality was first decriminalized in 1997 and removed from the Chinese Psychiatric Association’s list of mental illnesses in 2001, but discrimination against LGBT people is still prevalent in the country.
There’s also no fixed rating system in China and movies, which are generally expected to be family friendly, are entirely at the mercy of individual censors. Previous gay-themed Chinese movies and television shows not permitted in theaters were instead released directly to video.
“This is a small step for the film department, and a big step for the members of the film industry,” director Wang Cho noted on his Weibo Blog, calling the year-long wait and eventual decision “not easy, but gratifying,”
“Seek McCartney” currently has no fixed release date but is expected sometime this winter.