Public screenings of a slasher film that features Winnie the Pooh were scrapped abruptly in Hong Kong yesterday, sparking discussions over increasing censorship in the city, the Associated Press reports.
Film distributor VII Pillars Entertainment announced on Facebook that the release of “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” on Thursday had been canceled with “great regret” in Hong Kong and neighboring Macau. It did not elaborate nor immediately respond to a request for comment.
The film’s pull in Hong Kong has prompted concern on social media over the territory’s shrinking freedoms.
The movie was initially set to be shown in about 30 cinemas in Hong Kong, VII Pillars Entertainment wrote last week.
The Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration said it had approved the film and that the arrangements of local cinemas on the screening of approved films “are the commercial decisions of the cinemas concerned.” It refused to comment on such arrangements.
A screening initially scheduled for yesterday night in one cinema was canceled due to “technical reasons,” the organizer said on Instagram.
