Under the pseudonym "Koulamata", Chan uploaded the finished film to The Movies Online on 22 November 2005. Some viewers praised it, but others criticized the poor subtitles or the portrayal of police action against minorities. According to ', criticism was stronger in France than elsewhere. Lionhead's selection of "The French Democracy" as a "hot pick" led to redistribution from other Internet sites, followed by coverage in mainstream media—including "The Washington Post", "BusinessWeek", "USA Today", and '. "The Washington Post" and MTV originally created religious connotations by incorrectly labeling Chan's characters as Muslims; they issued corrected stories after Chan complained. In 2006, the film was shown at the Flash Festival at Centre Georges Pompidou and at the World Wide Short Film Festival in Toronto.