When the Dragon Swallowed the Sun, China Blocked IMDB

Pop quiz: What do Thom Yorke, Philip Glass,  and Damien Rice have in common?

Give up?

They’re all composers on an up-coming documentary about Tibet called “When the Dragon Swallowed the Sun“, by director Dirk Simon.

You can watch the trailer at the official site HERE* or watch it on imdb HERE (where it is up 79% this week!).

*Offer void in China.

… Well, surely savvy internet users in China can watch it on imdb.com, right?

Wrong.

Come on, it was too good to be true–attaching the names of Glass, Yorke, and Rice to one film is going to interest a wide variety of people, and that includes the Chinese government. China plugged the plug on imdb.com the day after I first watched the trailer.  (And I should note that yes, even as a Tibet supporter, I found out about the film because Yorke’s name was attached.)

I, for one, am very excited that such big names in music lent their talent to the film’s soundtrack.  Fans of those artists, keen to be up-to-date on their favorite musician’s doings, will stumble across the film. Even if it doesn’t automatically have any impact on their lives, hopefully the film’s trailer will help push them into educating themselves about Tibet, its oppression, and its struggle for freedom and independence.