Director Jia Zhangke's Cannes-nominated Ash is Purest White was screened in Beijing on Sunday, but a cameo starring famed director Feng Xiaogang was missing.

The film was screened without the scenes involving a cameo role played by Feng, according to the website mtime.com.

The film headlined by actor Liao Fan and actress Zhao Tao will open across the Chinese mainland on Sept 21.

It recounts an 18-year love story of a low-level gangster and a woman who chooses to go to jail for him.

Speaking about the cuts, Jia says: "When I was writing the script, I pasted a note on my desk which reads 'It's hard to explain all things, and I have complicated emotions'. This is how I feel about the film now."