Free Chen Pinlin!

ICFR calls for the immediate and unconditional release of the Chinese filmmaker

The International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk (ICFR) calls on the Chinese authorities for the immediate and unconditional release of our colleague, Chen Pinlin. First arrested and submitted to questioning in November 2023, the 33-year-old documentary filmmaker has now been officially sentenced, in a closed trial, to 3,5 years in prison for "picking quarrels and provoking trouble", an accusation often levelled by the Chinese authorities against journalists and media workers critical of Chinese policies and surveillance.

Chen Pinlin's documentary in question, Urumqi Middle Road (乌鲁木齐中路, also known internationally as Not the Foreign Force), revolves around the "White Paper Movement", a nationwide series of peaceful protests in 2022. These protests responded to all the rolling lockdowns under China's zero-COVID policy, as well as to the harsh environment of surveillance and censorship in China. Shared (often under his pseudonym "Plato") on YouTube and X, both of which are banned in China, the film's sensitive and outspoken content includes the brutal police crackdown on what ended up being the larges wave of citizen protest since the Tiananmen Square events back in 1989.

Reporters Without Borders' Cédric Alviani, the organization's Asia-Pacific Bureau director, comments on Chen Pinlin's sentence: "Documentary filmmaker Chen Pinlin was only serving the public interest by documenting historic protests against censorship and abuses by the Chinese regime. By branding him a troublemaker, Beijing demonstrates its utter contempt for the right to information."

As both Reporters Without Borders and the Human Rights Research Center point out, Chen Pinlin's arrest and sentence are clearly part of a bigger effort of the Chinese authorities to stifle the voices and stories of filmmakers, journalists and press freedom defenders across the board. As the ICFR reported last fall, Uyghur filmmaker Ikram Nurmehmet has also been sentenced by China to a long prison sentence, in his case for his film studies abroad in Turkey. They are among at least 124 film workers, journalists and press freedom defenders currently detained in the country.

We encourage all our colleagues across the global film industry to join us in supporting Chen Pinlin, and call upon the Chinese authorities to release the documentary filmmaker immediately and unconditionally.

In addition to distributing this call in your own networks, we also encourage you to join Amnesty International's writing campaign in Chen Pinlin's support; read more right here.

Lastly, Chen Pinlin's documentary Urumqi Middle Road can be watched on YouTube via this link. We encourage those in charge of film (festival) programming to include the film, if at all fitting and possible, in your public programs.

 

International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk