Aftershocks of Sichuan

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The battle over China's Unnatural Disaster continues

Approaching two years after the tragedy that struck Sichuan province, its effects are still extremely present and the Chinese government has continued to censor, suppress and jail those vocal about the incident. The families persist in their struggle for justice and China has made every effort to silence inquiry into the collapse of the schools of Sichuan. However, instead of brushing the controversy under the rug, their continued pattern of censorship and oppression only draws more attention to the tragedy of 2008.

China's Unnatural Disaster: the Tears of Sichuan Province, the latest film from Jon Alpert and Matt O'Neill, is the a powerful example of China's censorship of investigation into the earthquake that destroyed so many poorly-constructed schools, killing an estimated 10,000 children. The film follows the parents as they seek answers from the government and are ignored and silenced. It has been gathering attention on the international stage as it makes its run for the Oscars later this year. Perhaps the most unlikely publicity was that generated by China itself.

The film first met with opposition during filming, where the filmmakers were surrounded by 35 plain-clothes police and detained at the precinct for eight hours. The filmmakers took precautions to ensure their footage got out of the country by sending it ahead of them via messenger. Before exiting the country, officials demanded Alpert and O'Neill surrender their media, but it was already in New York. This was not the last of China's atempt to censors of the film. After its release, China was accepted into the Beijing Independent Film Festival, where Alpert and O'Neill were invited to attend. The Chinese consulate denied their requests for visas, effectively blocking them from entering the country. The consulate refused to comment. The New York Times took interest in the story and made this information public. After the film's Oscar nomination, the Chinese government has censored the list of nominees, cut off the live telecast of the nominations, and there is speculation that they may block the live ceremony itself to avoid possible humiliation if it were to win.

China's Unnatural Disaster is merely one example of the extreme lengths to which the Chinese government has gone to prevent any inquiry into the deaths caused by the 2008 earthquake. Recently, Tan Zuoren, a Chinese literary editor, was sentenced to five years in prison due to his work on an exposé on the deaths caused by the earthquake. He later appealed the provincial court's ruling, but remains in jail.

Jon Alpert, co-director of the film, has been in contact with the parents, who continue to demand answers. "The fight isn't over for these families," said Alpert, "the documentary is the last hope these families have for justice. We're honored to be nominated and the attention it's been getting is a small victory for them. We hope a win could bring attention to their cause."

DCTV would like to encourage members of the Academy to participate in the New York and LA screenings of the short documentary nominees. Please show your support documentaries and freedom of expression and vote for a film of your choice.

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