The film Ten Conditions of Love , by the Australian director Jeff Daniels, tells the story of Rebiya Kadeer, a businesswoman and political activist accused by the Chinese government of instigating the current unrest in the north-west of Xinjiang.

The riots, which started on 5 July between the Moslem Uyghur population and the Chinese, were the cause of over 100 deaths.

Although the premiere of the documentary had been scheduled for 8 August, the organisers decided to put on an exceptional screening last night, and tickets were rapidly sold out due to the controversy caused by the conflict.

The Chinese Consulate in Melbourne tried to persuade the manager of the event, Richard Moore, to cancel the film from the festival programme, but he refused. The Chinese directors taking part then reacted by withdrawing from the festival.

Furthermore, Chinese hackers went on to sabotage the Festival’s official website. According to Moore, “little Chinese flags appeared and there was a message stating that, basically, they were opposed to the presence of this film and that Rebiya Kadeer is a terrorist.”

Although normally the page receives about 10,000 visits per day, on Sunday it had 80,000, almost all of which were from China.