ABSTRACT
The 58th Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) began on 24 July 2009, advertising over 50 films on exhibition. Among them was 10 Conditions of Love (2009) by Australian documentary maker Jeff Daniels. The film profiles the life of Rebiya Kadeer, a successful businesswoman who became a political prisoner and exiled leader of the Uighurs of Xinjiang Province in their struggle for autonomy from China. The Melbourne controversy might have ended there as a minor footnote in the long history of Western film festivals and Chinese politics or as an added side show to the friction caused between the Australian and Chinese governments by the arrest of Stern Hu on spying and corruption charges. However, the controversy was compounded by the withdrawal of seven films by Chinese filmmakers from Hong Kong and Taiwan as well as Mainland China. These included two films produced by Jia Zhangke's production company, XStream Pictures, as well as his own short film, Cry Me a River.
