In Malaysia, the government has stated that screening a film produced by New Century Films would harm diplomatic relations between Malaysia and China. Brian Fang, an actor who works for the film production company, was initially excited when their name was called for recognition during an awards ceremony at the Markham International Film Festival. However, he was embarrassed when he was turned away from receiving the certificate, as it had already been given out by councillor Amanda Yeung Collucci. This incident, along with two others in Asia, led the company to suspect the involvement of Beijing’s influence.
At the Markham Film Festival, New Century Films submitted two films titled “The Power of Compassion” and “Silver Screen Dreams.” Both films revolve around values, morals, and the practice of Falun Dafa, a meditation discipline persecuted in China by the Chinese Communist Party. Grace Wei, a producer with the film company, recounts that although they were initially promised recognition certificates issued by the mayor of Markham, Mayor Frank Scarpitti appeared reluctant to give them out. Eventually, the festival organizers took over and presented the certificates. Mr. Fang later discovered that a councillor had intervened to prevent the mayor from presenting the certificates.
During the award ceremony, councillor Amanda Yeung Collucci handed out certificates to selected film submissions. When New Century Films’ name was called, Ms. Collucci seemed to make some remarks to the organizers, resulting in Mr. Fang being turned away from receiving the certificate. After conferring with each other, the organizers announced that the film had already received the certificate the previous day. This treatment shocked Mr. Fang, who had never experienced anything like it before. Councillor Collucci left the ceremony soon after. Despite multiple attempts to reach her for comment, there was no response.
The film company is concerned about these incidents and suspects outside influence on the council. Many members of their crew, who have Chinese origins, have faced interference from the Chinese Communist Party and harassment of their family members back in China. The company worries if the CCP’s involvement may have affected the events at the festival. Markham, with its significant Chinese community, has experienced interference from the Chinese regime, including the presence of secret Chinese police stations. The area has also witnessed reports of CCP interference in past federal elections.