China's government continues to control the media and information distribution within its border. In the latest show of its control over information, the Chinese government has canceled the Beijing International Film Festival.

The government decided to shut down the film festival for the first time in the festival's history without any explanation, according to BBC News. Chinese officials appeared at the venue's opening day to shut it down, after the organizers had been pressured by the government to cancel the event.

The film festival's 11th year ended before it even began because of the government's suspicions. The Guardian reports that this is the first time the show has been cancelled outright. In previous years, the government had forced the festivals organizers and audience to relocate to new venues and hold screenings and meetings in secret but this was not allowed this time.

Fifteen police officers, some in plain clothes, appeared outside the offices of the Li Xianting Film Fund, the organization behind the festival. They told arriving audience members and onlookers that the festival had been called off, according to the Guardian.

Some of the plainclothes officers took phones from onlookers and began deleting images. When some asked from what government agency they were from, they answered, "We're villagers."

According to the Los Angeles Times, 11 films were slated to be screened with a Q&A session afterwards, including some Japanese and Filipino films for the first time. But, it was all canceled. When onlookers asked the guarding officials if the festival would continue on Monday, they said no.

The film fund's president, Li Xianting, said two members, Wang Hongwei and Fan Rong, were detained by police in Friday and held for five hours, reports the Los Angeles Times. When asked via phone on Sunday about what happened, they said they could not talk about it.

However, in an interview in late July, Wang said that officials from various government departments had began questioning him about the festival, reports the Guardian.