Zhang Yimou's 'One Second' dropped from Berlin film festival

The latest film from famed Chinese director Zhang Yimou has been dropped from the Berlin film festival for what the festival described as technical reasons.

In this Saturday, Nov. 17, 2018, file photo, Chinese director Zhang Yimou holds his award for Best Director at the 55th Golden Horse Awards in Taipei, Taiwan. The latest film from Zhang has been dropped from the Berlin International Film Festival for "technical reasons." A notice on the official account of the movie "One Second" on China's Weibo microblogging service apologized, but gave no details other than to say it was not possible to show the film at Berlin. [File photo: AP]

A notice on the official Weibo microblogging service account for the movie "One Second" apologized but gave no details other than to say it was not possible to show the film at Berlin.

The festival said the film was pulled because of "technical difficulties encountered during post-production." It said the movie would be replaced at its scheduled Friday and Saturday showings with Zhang's action epic "Hero," which premiered in 2002 at the Great Hall of the People, the seat of China's legislature in the heart of Beijing.

Possibly China's best-known filmmaker, Zhang has oscillated between big-budget extravaganzas and edgier fare touching on sensitive political and social topics.

"One Second" is set amid the chaos and violence during the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution, a period rarely discussed in history books or portrayed on film.

Another Chinese film had also been pulled for Berlin for similar reasons. "Better Days," which portrays alienated youth was "withdrawn for censorship reasons," the trade magazine Variety reported, citing unidentified sources.

(Story includes material sourced from AP.)