Highly-acclaimed Chinese director Lou Ye and producer Nai An have been banned from making films for the next five years after they submitted a film to this year's Cannes Film Festival without government approval.

 

Lou took Summer Palace, a Palme d'Or candidate, to France without permission for its general release from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT), the Beijing-based Legal Mirror newspaper reported on Monday.

 

The paper said SARFT publicized its decision on September 1. A senior official with SARFT confirmed the punishment to Xinhua News Agency on Monday but refused to discuss the case further.

 

Summer Palace, the only Asian film in the main competition of this year's Cannes Film Festival, tells the story of a young Chinese couple's erotic and complex relationship against a backdrop of civil unrest in Beijing in 1989.

 

Earlier reports said Summer Palace was not licensed because of both "sensitive theme" and "technical problems."

 

"We did our utmost to adjust the color and brightness, but the film administration refused to censor the film saying the format of the tape handed in fell short of standards," Nai, the film's producer, was quoted by the Shenzhen Evening News newspaper in May as saying.

 

According to the Regulations on Administration of Films, Lou will not be allowed to make any films for five years. In addition, the actual film and income earned from it (up to ten times that amount) will be confiscated.

 

The administration, however, did not say if a fine would be imposed, and if so, how much.

 

Lou and Nai were both unavailable for comment on Monday.

(Xinhua News Agency September 5, 2006)