Watch online: the Kyrgyz drama taking on anti-mining protests that’s been banned from cinemas

A film following the conflict between Kyrgyz villagers and a Chinese mining company has been banned from cinemas in Kyrgyzstan.

Directed by Medetbek Jalilov, Meken was due to be released in January this year, but saw its premiere delayed after a state movie commission, formed of members from the country’s State Committee for National Security (GKNB) and the presidential office, demanded that scenes depicting “corruption and bribery” by government officials were removed. Those scenes were subsequently deleted and replaced, but the film was still refused a permit to be shown in Kyrgyz cinemas.

Meken has now been released on YouTube, with viewers leaving donations to help the producers return the £77,000 loan that went into filming.

Filmed in Kyrgyzstan’s Grigorievsky gorge, Meken was inspired by real cases of tensions between local rural communities and mining companies. One incident in August 2019 saw violent clashes between 500 residents in Solton-Sary, and a gold mine managed by a Chinese investment company, after villagers blamed the mining company for local health problems and the mass death of livestock. Following the protests, the government fined the company 500,000 som (or £5,000) for breaking environmental standards.