BEIJING — A Cultural Revolution-era film by a celebrated Chinese director has been withdrawn from the 69th Berlin Film Festival, where it was set to show in the festival’s main competition.

A statement posted Monday on the film’s official Weibo account said the film by Zhang Yimou, “One Second,” had been pulled for “technical reasons,” a term often used in China as a euphemism for government censorship. Festival organizers confirmed the withdrawal, stating that the film had been pulled from the competition “due to technical difficulties encountered during postproduction.”

The sudden withdrawal of Mr. Zhang’s film is a major setback for the 68-year-old filmmaker, who is best known for directing art house classics like “Raise the Red Lantern” and for being the creative force behind the dazzling opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.

While China’s strict oversight of films is well known, it is rare to see a film pulled so close to its festival premiere. The abrupt reversal caused a stir within film circles in China, and it added to worries about the Chinese Communist Party’s broadening crackdown on dissent and discussion of sensitive subjects.