Disney responds to 'Mulan' controversy of filming in Xinjiang province

There has been a lot of reportage around Disney’s latest flick ‘Mulan’ and not everything written about it was in favour of the film that tells the story of a brave girl Mulan from China who takes upon a tough task for an important reason. 

The film has been riddled with controversies ever since it released. Most importantly for filming near internment camps in China where Uighur Muslims and other Muslim minorities have been kept allegedly by force. The film that was filmed in the Xinjiang province was criticised heavily for whitewashing the issue and continuing filming in a troubled area. Disney has responded to the criticism. 

Disney's president of film production, Sean Bailey, defended the decision to film in that area, saying that those scenes "comprised 78 seconds" of the final film. Bailey's statement came as a response to a letter of critique from Iain Duncan Smith, a member of the UK Parliament. 

They have also argued that they filmed it there to make ‘Mulan’ more authentic. 

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The live-adaptation of the 1998 classic is currently streaming on Disney+Hotstar and has also been released in several parts of the world in theatres. It has, however, particularly in China, received a lukewarm response. In mainland China, authorities had told major media outlets not to cover the film's release in the wake of the uproar.