The Chinese Embassy in Iceland tried to prevent the screening of the American documentary When the Dragon Swallowed the Sun at the Reykjavík International Film Festival (RIFF), which is currently running.
Tibetan leader The Dalai Lama speaks in Reykjavík in June 2009. Photo by Jennifer Zoltek.
The festival’s manager Hrönn Marínósdóttir revealed in a press release that she was called to a meeting at the embassy a few weeks ago where it was requested that plans to include the documentary in the festival’s program be canceled, visir.is reports.
Marínósdóttir refused and the film will be screened at RIFF for the first time tonight at Idnó at 8:30 pm. It features the relations between Tibet and China and asks questions such as: “Why hasn’t Tibet been freed?” and “Who stands in the way of Tibetan independence?” (Visit the festival’s website for further details on the film and the program.)
According to the news website phayul.com, the Chinese Embassy also brought this matter up with the Icelandic Foreign Ministry in an informal manner.
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