Many of Tian 's earlier works had drawn fire from the Chinese government . For example , television producers refused to screen his short film '' Our Corner '' , and his first major film , '' September '' ( 1984 ) , suffered censor interference with several major scenes left on the cutting room floor . But Tian would not face serious consequences as a result of his work until his masterpiece , '' The Blue Kite '' ( 1993 ) , a film about the adverse effects of Communist rule from the Hundred Flowers Movement , through the Great Leap Forward , and especially the Cultural Revolution . The film 's quiet criticism of Communist policies in the 1950s and 1960s quickly made it a pariah in the Beijing Film Studio , who refused to submit the film for central approval to be sent abroad for post-production . '' The Blue Kite '' reportedly had to be smuggled out of the country by Tian 's friends , where it would proceed to screen at foreign film festivals ( including the 1993 Cannes Film Festival ) without approval . Due to the controversy , Tian resigned from his position in the Beijing Film Studio in March 1994 . A month later , he became one of six filmmakers blacklisted by the government in April 1994 , along with Sixth Generation helmers Wang Xiaoshuai , He Jianjun , Zhang Yuan , Zhang 's wife , screenwriter Ning Dai , and the documentary filmmaker Wu Wenguang
1993 Cannes Film Festival
1993 Cannes Film Festival
Tian Zhuangzhuang