“China’s Spielberg” Feng Xiaogang On Censorship

“I believe that 1942 is the closest that you can get to an Oscar-level film for China because of the censorship.”

In this interview, The Hollywood Reporter‘s Scott Feinberg had a chance to ask the celebrated writer/director Feng Xiaogang about censorship in China, as well as his life and career. As one of China’s most commercially successful film directors, Feng has moved from blockbuster hits to more serious work, such as in the acclaimed epic films Back to 1942 and Aftershock.

“Well, the Censorship Bureau hasn’t really been improving. It has been making baby steps, but not big enough so that it’s not a headache to all the directors. You have to keep a lot of things in mind when you’re making a film, and that’s hurting the film already in the first place, because you’re always thinking, ‘Okay, can this get through?’ And after you send it to them, they give you a lot of little notes about changes that you have to make, and every little bit of sacrifice, in the end, is a great harm to the film itself.”