An acclaimed Chinese film, that also performed well at the box office, was withdrawn from cinemas, and later from streaming services, with reasons for the action being unclear, South China Morning Post reported.
Return to Dust, a depiction of the difficulties of rural life, released on July 8. Within just two months, it collected 100 million yuan ($14 million). It had premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in February.
While it won praise for its poignant account of rural life, nationalistic opinions were against it, claiming it showed China in bad light, The Guardian reported.
It was withdrawn from cinemas on September 26. Later, it was nowhere to be found on any streaming platform either.
There are suspicions that that film's disappearance is linked to Chinese authorities' heightened caution ahead of the important Communist Party Congress mid-October.
The film's producers are hoping the movie will be back on viewing platforms soon.
“We did not receive the official document (to block the film), an associate of one of the film's producers told South China Morning Post.
However, the makers did get a notice hinting that the film should not be associated with foreign film festivals, a source told the newspaper.
China has had a history of censoring content. In some instances, endings of of foreign films have been changed altogether.
In August, Minions: The Rise of Gru, the fifth part of the Despicable Me series, got an altered ending in China.
Before that, cult classic Fight Club received a similar treatment. But its ending had to be restored because of backlash.
Read: Original 'Fight Club' ending restored in China after backlash
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