Lou faces ban in China over 'Summer Palace'

The director of the only Chinese film in competition at the Cannes Film Festival could be barred from film-making in China for showing the work.

Lou Ye violated the country's distribution rules by submitting his film Summer Palace for screening before it had been cleared by state censors, Chinese authorities say.

The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television rejected Summer Palace last Tuesday, long after the film had been officially entered in competition and a screening scheduled at Cannes.

The reason given by the bureau was that the print had lighting and sound flaws, according to one of the producers of the film.

But it's far more likely the subject matter that has Chinese censors worried.The film contains graphic sex scenes and takes place against the background of student protests in 1989 that culminated in the massacre at Tiananmen Square.

Lou says he had an obligation to the film's backers and cast to bring the film to international notice, although Beijing had not yet approved it.

Chinese director Wong Kar-wai is chairman of the Cannes jury this year, but Summer Palace is the only Asian film among the 20 in competition for the Palme D'Or.

The film is primarily a love story, not a political statement, Lou told Reuters, claiminghe set the film in 1989 "only because I was a student at university then and I was in love."

The film is a personal epic that covers a period from 1987 to 2001, with the Tiananmen protests falling at the most intense time inthe heroine's personal struggle. Chinese actress Hao Lei stars as a tempestuous young women who seeks love again and again but never finds fulfillment for long.

China has warned its 50-member press contingent at the 2006 Cannes festival not to cover sensitive subjects, especially Summer Palace, according a report from Screen magazine.

After the screening of Summer Palace last Thursday, Lou said he is willing to change the film to get approval to show it in China.

"I would agree to removing any scene they want," he said. Shanghai-born Lou is keen to have mainland Chinese see the film because it explores the many changes in personal morality and social norms that mark the last 30 years in Chinese history.

"During shooting, I always forget about what's banned and what's allowed. Now it has become an issue and I will have to find a way of improving my way of working," he said.

Lou said that a synopsis of the film had been submitted to the censors' office in 2004, and that "normally on that basis, a film can be approved."

Lou was previously barred from making films for two years for his 2000thriller Suzhou River, which was produced without official approval. Chinese censors can bar filmmakers for even longer periods.

Other contenders for this year's top award at Cannes are Sophia Coppola's Marie Antoinette; Volver by Spanish director Pedro Almodovar and U.K. master Ken Loach's The Wind that Shakes the Barley.