Sichuan's 'non-existent' Oscar-nominated documentary

In the U.S.-China political back-and-forth that’s been going on this week regarding currency issues and even the Dalai Lama, you might have forgotten that Oscar nominees were announced on Tuesday. But not us. And keeping our beady eyes on anything that might vaguely add another twist in this screwy political plot line has paid off, because China's sole nomination, “China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan,” (watch "Tears of Sichuan", Youtube), to all intents and purposes, doesn't exist here. 

The film by Jon Alpert, nominated for the Oscar’s best documentary short, deals with the concept of “tofu construction” of schools in Sichuan province that collapsed during the earthquake in August 2008 killing thousands of children. The documentary follows groups of parents as their grief turned into protest and how they were stonewalled by Communist party officials. 

The film has not been allowed to air in China and Chinese media outlets, when reporting on the Oscar nominations, “either removed the film from their reports, or omitted the entire category,” according to the Telegraph. 

There are now also questions of whether the Oscars will be allowed to be shown live in China on March 7 out of fear over China’s potential embarrassment if the movie wins. 

Although “China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan" is the most recent hot spot for the international film industry and China, it's far from the first. In July 2009 the Melbourne International Film Festival made headlines and its website was hacked for screening a documentary about a leader of Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang. In more recent news, two Chinese films were withdrawn from the Palm Springs International Film Festival to protest a screening of a documentary about Tibet and Tibetan's religious and political leader.