#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

“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

#Censorship #WhiteTerror
Hong Kong Authorities Warn Medical Workers' Union Over Film Screenings Related to Tiananmen Massacre

The Hospital Authority Employees Alliance (#HAEA) has been warned by the government's Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration (#OFNAA), when they organized screenings for the film "Conjugation" and the documentary "I Have Graduated".

Both films are related to the Chinese Communist Party's brutal crackdown on pro-democracy citizens at Beijing's Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989, in Beijing.

The Union recounted that their office was visited by the film censors without prior notice on the evening of May 27, 2021. The authorities demanded the Union to answer whether approval has been sought to show the films. Responding to media's inquiry, the film censors claimed that they received "inquiry" whether the screenings had followed the Film Censorship Ordinance.

The Union condemned the film censors for not showing their identification cards and taking photos of the office.

Text: InMedia #May27
Image: HAEA

#PoliceState #PoliticalSuppression #PublicScreening #Conjugation #IHaveGraduated #June4 #Cinema #TiananmenMassacre #BannedFilms

#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

#Film #Censorship
No hope for pro-democracy films to be shown in Hong Kong: disappointing filmmaker claims

The Hong Kong government promulgated in June 2021 an amendment to the inspector's guideline of Film censorship regulations.

On the same day, the Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration (#OFNAA) declined approval for a short film, titled “Far From Home” which took anti-ELAB movement as background. The short film was intended to join the 15th Fresh Wave International Short Firm contest.

The film’s director Mok Kwan-ling told stand News on August 25, 2021 that in OFNAA’s response to her on August 17, the office requested as many as 14 counts of amendments. She described such request as excessive to the extent of going in contrary to the original intention of the film.

Without viable alternative,Mok decided to withdraw her film, saying that “it is not hopeful for it to be screened in Hong Kong”.

Source: Stand News; #Aug25

https://thestandnews.page.link/HoSrgvdNJQsz6FdJ6

#FailedState #Art #Screening #PolicalSuppression #FarFromHome #MokKwanLing

#Censorship #RedLine
Hong Kong Film Censorship Authorities reject two student movies citing national security violations

Two movie screenings in the 4th Ground Up Student Film Festival have been cancelled after the films failed to obtain a Certificate of Approval from Hong Kong’s Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration (#OFNAA).

The news came shortly after the amended Film Censorship Ordinance came into effect on 5 November 2021. The amended ordinance sets out the need to put an end to acts and activities that may endanger national security and it also allows the Chief Secretary of Administration to withdraw already-issued screening permits.

On November 19, 2021, Hong Kong Film Censorship Authority first turned down approval for #TheCage, a short film directed by Hong Kong Baptist University (#HKBU) graduate Tsoi Wing-chau. The film depicts totalitarian rule, capitalism, freedom and resistance.

Two days later, another film Piglet Piglet that sets around Taiwan's Presidential election also failed to obtain an approval certificate. The screening of #PigletPiglet was cancelled just over five hours before it was set to be held.

Director of the film, Lin Tsung-yen, wrote on his Facebook page, saying that “local authorities expressed disapproval. They asked me to cut all scenes and information linked to Taiwanese Presidential election and Tsai Ing-wen.”

#GroundUp #FilmFestival #FilmCensorshipAmendment #NationalSecurityLaw #TsaiIngWen #Cinema

Source: Stand News, #Nov21
https://thestandnews.page.link/CgCJg1s5p4D1XvFF8