‘State Organs’ Documentary Enters 2025 Oscar Documentary Race

Advertising poster for "State Organs," a documentary exposing the organ pillage industry sanctioned by China's ruling Chinese Communist Party. Courtesy of Rooyee Films

A documentary that reveals the Chinese Communist Party’s acts of unconscionable inhumanity is seeking to add to the numerous accolades it has already received.

The filmmakers of the documentary “State Organs,” directed by Peabody Award-winner Raymond Zhang, announced on Sept. 3 that it is officially competing for the 2025 Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature Film.

The film delves into the stories of Yun Zhang and Shawn Huang, who vanished under mysterious circumstances in China in the early 2000s, and the heart-wrenching journey of their families searching for them.

What the families uncover is the horror of an organ-harvesting industry legitimized by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Producer Cindy Song recently told The Epoch Times that she is pleased the film is on the list for an Oscar nomination.

“I hope that people can understand the real history that is happening now in China through the movie, allowing the stories of innocent victims to be heard around the world,” Song said in a statement.

The film is now available to members of the Documentary branch in the Academy Screening Room for voting purposes.

Preliminary voting for shortlists will begin on Dec. 9, with the results announced on Dec. 17, according to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences website. The nominations voting period is scheduled from Jan. 8 to Jan. 12, and the official nominations will be announced on Jan. 17. The 97th Oscars will take place on March 2.

“State Organs’ has won several awards, including two 2023 Leo Awards for Best Direction and Best Musical Score in the feature-length documentary category, an Award of Excellence at the Accolade Global Film Competition in March, and the Best Human Rights Documentary at the 2024 Manhattan Film Festival.

In the documentary, Michelle Zhang, Yun Zhang’s sister, and Dr. Will Huang, Shawn Huang’s brother, give accounts of the search for their missing relatives, who are both Falun Gong practitioners. The film is supported by interviews with lawyers who have expert knowledge about the CCP’s state-sanctioned practice of forced organ harvesting.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. In less than a decade after its introduction in 1992, at least 70 million people took up the practice, according to official estimates.

The CCP perceived Falun Gong’s popularity as a threat to its rule and launched an eradication campaign against the practice in July 1999. Since then, millions have been detained inside prisons, labor camps, and other facilities, hundreds of thousands tortured, and thousands have been documented as killed, according to statistics collected by the Falun Dafa Information Center.

In 2019, an independent people’s tribunal in London concluded that Beijing had been killing prisoners of conscience for their organs “on a significant scale,” with imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners as the primary source.

Song also spoke about how the documentary has been popular in Taiwan since its premiere on July 15.

A screening event of the documentary was held in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaoshiung on July 23. Among those in attendance was Chen Li-na, a Kaoshiung city councilor.

After the event, Chen told local NTD Asia-Pacific Television that “all Taiwanese people should know that if they travel to China for organ transplants, they may get an organ harvested from living persons.”

Chen suggested that the Taiwan parliament pass legislation similar to the Falun Gong Protection Act in the United States.

The House passed the bipartisan legislation (H.R. 4132) in June. If enacted, individuals complicit in the Chinese regime’s crimes of organ harvesting could face potential U.S. sanctions and visa restrictions. The companion version of the bill (S.4914) was introduced in the Senate in July.

“State Organs” is currently available on several digital platforms, including Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play, Microsoft, and YouTube.