of Filmfest DC, the Press Counsel of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Washington D.C. wrote, “As is well known, a very small number of people engaged themselves in anti-government violence in Beijing in June 1989 but failed. The film The Gate of Heavenly Peace sings praise of these people in total disregard of the facts. If this film is shown during the festival, it will mislead the audience and hurt the feelings of the 1.2 billion Chinese people. … Therefore, it is necessary and appropriate to withdraw this film from the festival.” The director of Filmfest DC did not comply. Other festival directors were less resolute in the face of pressure to withdraw the film. Awards The Gate of Heavenly Peace received a George Foster Peabody Award, both the International Critics Prize and Best Social and Political Documentary at the Banff World Television Festival, and a National News & Documentary Emmy Award Nomination. Other awards include: Award for Excellence, American Anthropological Association, Golden Spire, San Francisco International Film Festival, and Best of Festival, New England Film & Video Festival. Reviews The Gate of Heavenly Peace has been widely and positively reviewed in the press. David Ansen, Newsweek – “deep, powerful and rivetingly complex” Charles Taylor, Boston Phoenix – “The Gate of Heavenly Peace, Richard Gordon and Carma Hilton's magnificent and devastating three-hour documentary on the 1989 Chinese democracy movement, which culminated with the tragedy at Tiananmen Square, has the richness, clarity, and complexity that only the best documentaries afford… It is certainly one of the great documentaries of the past 20 years.” Michael Blowen, TV Week magazine, The Boston Globe – "In The Gate of Heavenly Peace (the literal translation of the name Tiananmen), the causes, effects and fallout from the six-week protest that led up to the Chinese government's crackdown on dissidents are detailed with intelligence, grace and toughness. Filmmakers Carma Hinton and Richard Gordon have transformed news into history, and history into art." Jonathan Rosenbaum, The Chicago Reader – “An immensely valuable three-hour documentary… This film is likely to revise the very terms of your understanding of the pivotal events it considers.” References External links The Gate of Heavenly Peace Official Website Excerpts from the film Official Distributor The Gate of Heavenly Peace at the Internet Movie Database American documentary films 1990s English-language films 1990s Mandarin-language films 1995 films Documentary films about China Peabody