#YingEChi #Ban #Documentaries
#Censorship: Hong Kong Authorities Accuse Protest Documentaries of "Constituting Criminal Offences"

The Hong Kong government's Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration (#OFNAA), which is responsible for approving films and printed matters for public distribution, accused two local documentaries of "constituting criminal offences" for showing footages of the 2019 Anti-ELAB movement.

The two documentaries “Taking back the Legislature" and "Inside the Red Brick Wall" were produced by Ying E Chi, a veteran non-profit independent film organization in Hong Kong.

The documentaries captured the pro-democracy protesters' siege of the legislative council on July 1, 2019 and the siege of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in November 2019, respectively.

Ying E Chi released a statement on Sept 21, 2020 and revealed how the OFNAA has made different attempts to bar the films from being shown in cinema. These included the request to re-edit; overturning past approved screening certificates; and classifying "Inside the Red Brick Wall" into a Category III film only 2 hours before its release.*

*In Hong Kong, Category III films are restricted to an audience above 18 years of age. In the case of "Inside the Red Brick Wall", Ying E Chi has to make refund to all underaged spectators.

Ying E Chi said the authorities has tried to "coerce the directors into making statements against their wills" and threatened to bar the films from screening.

Ying E Chi also expressed that "the opinion expressed in the statement issued by The Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration (OFNAA) does not reflect the views of the director and the production team".

According to Ying E Chi director Vincent Chui, four staff of the OFNAA were present to monitor the public screening on Sept 21, 2020.

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Ying E Chi expresses strong disagreement as the OFNAA:

1. Force the films to be edited under the pretext of protecting everyone, but in fact, only to protect their own interest

2. Request an announcement to be made at the beginning of the film, yet refused to be declared as the one who demanded the announcement

(See images in blue: https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/25425)

3. Overturn the previous certificate issued by the OFNAA with unspecified reason

4. Fail to issue the certificate on time as promised, whilst shifting the responsibility to the applicant

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The comments made by the OFNAA on the two documentaries are as follows:

“Taking back the Legislature”:
“This film records the serious incident of the storming of the Legislative Council Complex on 1 July 2019. Some of those depictions or acts may constitute criminal offences under prevailing laws.”

“Inside the Red Brick Wall:
“This film records the serious incidents at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and nearby areas in November 2019. Some of those depictions or acts may constitute criminal offences under prevailing laws. Some of the contents of or commentaries in the film may be unverified or misleading.”

Source: Ying E Chi; Apple Daily #Sept21
https://www.facebook.com/261128170659949/posts/3063984707040934/

https://hk.appledaily.com/local/20200921/KVBCY4X4LZG4DKOP6FJJIF34AE/

#VincentChui #PolyUSiege #LegCoSiege #1July2019 #IndieCinema #HongKongCinema

#Censorship #YingEChi
Independent filmmakers: Film inspection authority stalls reviewing process and shutters anti-ELAB movement DVD submitted for inspection

Source: Apple Daily #Sept22

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https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/25486

#Censorship #YingEChi
Independent filmmakers: Film inspection authority stalls reviewing process and shutters anti-ELAB movement DVD submitted for inspection

“Inside the Red Brick Wall”, a documentary directed by filmmakers of HK Documentary Initiative was released on September 21 at the Hong Kong Arts Center. The film, centered on the siege of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, has captured one of the most intense confrontations between pro-democracy protesters and HK police during the year-long anti-ELAB movement in 2019.

When receiving the long-overdue Certificate of Approval, Ying E Chi Cinema was stunned to find the DVD of “Inside the Red Brick Wall” it submitted for inspection was “utterly shattered”.

When being asked, a staff member of OFNAA (Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration) claimed that they had “accidentally'' damaged it during reviewing process. Ying E Chi Cinema stated on its Facebook that “it had never occurred in almost 20 years since our establishment”.

Source: Apple Daily #Sept22
#WhiteTerror #FailedState #FreedomOfSpeech #HongKongCinema #IndieCinema

Read how the negotiation between Ying E Chi cinema and the OFNAA unfolds on the cinema’s Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=3063984707040934&id=261128170659949

Related article: Hong Kong Authorities Accuse Protest Documentaries of "Constituting Criminal Offences"
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/25426

#IndependentCinema #YingEChi
Local Groups Support Protest Documentary 'Inside the Red Brick Wall',
Filmmaker: Rethinking Life in the 'New Norm' under National Security Law

Source: Stand News #Nov1

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#IndependentCinema #YingEChi
Local Groups Support Protest Documentary 'Inside the Red Brick Wall',
Filmmaker: Rethinking Life in the 'New Norm' under National Security Law

The documentary film 'Inside the Red Brick Wall' recorded the police siege of the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong (#PolyU) in November 2019. The screening of the film was supported by the local organization at Hong Kong Arts Centre on October 31, 2020.

The authorities OFNAA has rated the film as Category III, meaning that underage audience are not permitted into the screening. Compulsory warnings have been inserted into the opening of the film, stating 'some of those descriptions or acts may constitute criminal offences under prevailing laws', and 'some of the contents of or commentaries in the film may be unverified or misleading'.

Vincent Chui, the art director of the NGO Ying E Chi which distributed the film clarified that the warnings were prescribed by the authorities, and such act has set the alarm bells of freedom of speech ringing in Hong Kong.

Eric Poon, the associate professor of practice of School of Journalism and Communism at Chinese University of Hong Kong (#CUHK), and the former director of the #RTHK program 'Hong Kong Connection', spoke in the sharing session. Poon said that though protest documentaries are now under pressure in Hong Kong, the situation here is still not comparable to that in China, in which electricity is often cut during film screenings.

Poon then referred to Chinese documentary filmmaker Ai Xiao-ming, who carries on screening her films despite the lack of equipment. Poon remarked that in the 'new norm' of Hong Kong's National Security Law, apart from planning currency exchange and immigration, Hongkongers should also think about how to keep on living.

'We cannot expect that the next social movement will emerge soon, but in between the periods there are still a lot of things we can do," Poon reminded the audience.

Poon also mentioned that the themes and the visions of the documentaries of his era in Hong Kong did not reflect the taste of the Western countries, thus it was hard for them to get into the international market.

However, this time 'Inside the Red Brick Wall' has been shortlisted at the International Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), indicating that Hongkongers can now proudly present their own perspective to the world, 'The stories of Hong Kong are now told by us, not by the others.'

Source: Stand News #Nov1

#InsidetheRedBrickWall #PolyUSiege #VincentChui #EricPoon #StoryofHongKong #HKDocumentary

Documentary Film ‘Inside the Red Brick Wall’ Pulled from Hong Kong Release

An award-winning Hong Kong protest documentary, “Inside the Red Brick Wall” has been pulled out at the last minute from a local cinema, despite overwhelming public support.

In Hong Kong, the #GoldenSceneCinema announced on its Instagram page on March 15, 2021 that screenings of “Inside the Red Brick Wall” later that day and others scheduled for March 21, 2021 will be canceled.

The cinema apologized for the inconvenience caused, asked for movie-goers’ understanding and offered refunds.

The Hong Kong Film Critics Society and the Cinema’s decision came soon after #CCP mouth-piece’s heavy critic four days ago.

An editorial on Wen Wei Po blamed that a public screening of the film would incite hatred of China’s central government, the Hong Kong government and the police, which may violate the #NationalSecurityLaw.The paper also accused the film of violating the Film Censorship Ordinance due to its coarse language and detailed depiction of violence.

Notes to editors:
“Inside the Red Brick Wall” was part of a screening series of winners of the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards staged at Golden Scene Cinema, a recently-opened outlet operated by homegrown film company Golden Scene. It was named as best film by the Hong Kong Film Critics Society in January, 2021 and it would have been the first time the film had a commercial screening.

#CCP #Oppression
#YingEChi #GoldenScene #Censorship #PolyUSiege #InsidetheRedBrickWall

Source: Stand News #Mar15

https://bit.ly/3vqR9ev

#Arts #FilmAwards
#Documentary about Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Protests Awarded Grand Prize in Taiwan

[Editor's note: The Hong Kong authorities had classified the two documentary films as Category III, calling it "unsuitable" for an audience below 18 years of age. The authorities also demanded a warning to be placed before the films]

Hong Kong protest-related documentaries has won awards across the world.

The award ceremony of the 12th Taiwan International Documentary Festival unveiled on May 6, 2021 in which "Taking Back the Legislature" and "Inside the Red Brick Wall" were awarded Grand Prize for the Chinese-language Documentary Category.

The Jury explained the prize was given for “the capture of passion and contradictions of the insurgency of a people”.

“The Jury wishes to thank the collective communion of the group of filmmakers… for contributing to our understanding of how cinema feeds the conscience and collective memory of the world in our era of overwhelming control and surveillance. ”

The two documentary films capture different moments during the 2019 anti-ELAB protests in Hong Kong.

"Taking back the Legislature" is a documentation of the first instance of an occupation of Hong Kong’s legislature on July 1, 2019, while "Inside the Red Brick Wall" is about the week-long siege of the police on Hong Kong Polytechnic University (#PolyU) in November 2019.

Source: Stand News #May3
https://bit.ly/2SrFYTX

#YingEChi #HongKongCinema #InsidetheRedBrickWall

#IndieCinema #FilmFestival
#Japan Organizes "Hong Kong Independent Film Festival" to show protest-related films

Just as Hong Kong-produced documentaries about the 2019 Anti-ELAB protests such as "Inside the Red Brick Wall" and "Taking back the Legislature" cannot be run in Hong Kong theatres due to the concerns with the #NationalSecurityLaw; a group of cinephilles in Japan are organizing the second edition of the "Hong Kong Independent Film Festival" (2021年香港インディペンデント映画祭) from 19 June to 25 June, 2021.

The film festival will show 18 feature length and short films from Hong Kong, including documentaries that record the 2014 Umbrella Movement and the 2019 pro-democracy movement.

The organizers aim to help Japanese audience to reflect on the change of Hong Kong society, Hong Kong-China relations and the identity issue of Hong Kong people in the recent years.

Source: Stand News #May25

https://bit.ly/3ipQ3fi

#HongKongCulture #HongKongCinema #HongKongProtests #HongKongDocumentaries
#InsidetheRedBrickWall #TakingBacktheLegislature
#YingEChi

#Censorship #WhiteTerror
Indie Film Organization criticises Hong Kong authorities for “doing everything possible” to censor films

#YingEChi, an independent film distributor in Hong Kong, was accused of “inciting riots and spreading Hong Kong independence messages” by pro-Beijing media.

The group is the distributor of “Inside the Red Brick Wall”, a documentary that covered the pro-democracy protest and thr police siege that occurred at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (#PolyU) in 2019.

Not only was Ying E Chi’s annual funding halted by the Arts Developments Council (#ADC); Ying E Chi was also unable to hold its Short Film Marathon scheduled on July 10, 2021.

In its open house event on July 10, art director Vincent Chui said, the only thing they can do is to push its limits behind the red line of the film industry.

Chui criticised the Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration (#OFNAA) for doing “everything possible” to censor controversial films. “In the coming future they might even have to review wedding videos and only allow licensed restaurants to play those videos on a wedding day”.

Source: In Media HK #Jul11
https://bit.ly/3e1I3Oo

#HongKongCinema #Documentary #PoliticalSuppression