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Short film about Hong Kong pro-democracy protests nominated for Oscar; CCP tells media to downplay Award coverage

The 93rd Academy Awards, set to be held in April 2021, announced shortlisted documentaries for an #Oscar on March 15. “Do Not Split” - a 35-minute feature by #AndersHammer - is up against four other films in the Best Short Documentary category.

According to the official introduction, “Do Not Split” is about the anti-ELAB protests and “captures the determination and sacrifices of the protesters, the government’s backlash, and the passage of the new Beijing-backed national security law.”

Many major police-civilian clashes were documented, such like sieges in the Chinese University of Hong Kong (#CUHK) and Polytechnic University (#PolyU), the incident at Amoy Plaza on 14 Sep, the 1 Oct demonstration etc. The film has also included interviews with protesters. It is available online for viewing for free. (https://fieldofvision.org/do-not-split?fbclid=IwAR0HISiwv2AM4kxy0AvzMtfHvz72jcl4__yBGd6RffiuxAUJluWE28PXDDs)

Just two days later, on March 17, China told local media not to broadcast the Oscars ceremony in real time and to play down coverage of the awards, according to people familiar with the matter. The source said that the Communist Party’s propaganda department issued an order to all media outlets, telling them that the Oscars coverage should focus on awards that aren’t seen as controversial.

#DoNotSplit #Oppression

Notes to editors:
The film title, Do Not Split, is a reference to the Hong Kong protesters’ principle of remaining united. The short film has amassed over 81,000 views on Vimeo, and has already been screened at Denmark’s International Documentary Film Festival and the New Orleans Film Festival in the US.

Sources: Stand News #Mar15 ; Bloomberg #Mar17

https://bit.ly/2OMzkX0
#PoliticalPrisoner #MassArrest
#PolyUSiege: HK Police Arrests 21 Civilians Including Student Standing in Public Exam

The police arrested 21 civilians in Hong Kong on the morning of April 26, 2021. The arrestees have refused bail in the Hong Kpng Polytechnic University (#PolyU) clash during the 2019 Anti-ELAB protest.

The Organised Crime and Triad Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force charged them with “perverting the course of justice” as they were suspected of assisting other civilians trapped in the PolyU campus to avoid from being tracked.

Stand News found that one of the arrestees is a public exam HKDSE candidate who was absent for the subject Liberal Studies - Paper 1 exam due to police detention.

His/ her educational pathway will be obstructed as this paper accounts for 56% of the assessment, which is a core subject and required to obtain at least a level 2 in university admission.

Source: Stand News #Apr23

https://bit.ly/3aCvqb2

#PoliceState #PoliticalSuppression
#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
#FirstHand #June9
#LocalYouthWill Organizes #Exhibition to Pass On Memories of #HongKongProtests: "When there is light, there are people"

Photos:
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30046

"Local Youth Will" is a pro-democracy concern group recently established by former cabinet member of the now-dissolved students' union of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (#CUHK), Law Tsz Wai; external affairs vice-president of the current students' union of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (#PolyU), Cheung Sum-yee; and former spokeperson of #StudentPoliticism, Chu Wai-ying.

The group organized their inaugural event on June 9, 2021. On the day two years ago, over 1 million Hongkongers took it to the street to protest against the government's plan to implement extration to China.

In the exhibition they are organizing in 2021, Local Youth Will aims to give voices to the detained, jailed and exiled pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong.

At a gallery called Parallel Space located in Shum Shui Po, photos, banners and art installations relating to the pro-democracy movement are displayed.

The group hopes that the memories of the #AntiELAB movement can be passed on, despite the authorities' incessant attempts to alter history.

=====

About the Exhibition:

"Walk-Through: 730 Days After June 9th"

Dates: 9 - 21 June, 2021

Time: 2 – 8pm (Mon - Fri); 11am – 8 pm (Sat and Sun)

Venue: Parallel Space, 20 Tai Nam Street, Shum Shui Po

Booking needed: https://bit.ly/3ga982f

 #FightForFreedom #HongKongYouth #Memories
#FirstHand #Jun10
Hong Kong Authorities Intervene Protest Exhibition Organized by Local Youth

#LocalYouthWill is a pro-democracy concern group recently established. They are currently running their inaugural event in form of an exhibition from June 9 to June 21, 2021.

Read more:
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30047

However, just one day after the event has started, the authorities intervened by sending 6 to 7 officers from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (#FEHD) to the venue. Despite that the exhibition is held as a private event that requires advanced booking, the authorities claimed that the group lacks the "license" for "places of public entertainment".

Law Tsz-wai, the convenor of the group Local Youth Will said they had expected that the authorities would try to interfere and they would never give in.

#PoliceState #EntertainmentVenue #License
#NeverGiveUp #Exhibition #HongKongYouth
#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
Tears Shed at Premier of PolyU Siege Documentary in London

The documentary "Inside the Red Brick Wall" was shown in the Open City documentary festival in London on September 11. The film captured one of the most aggressive crackdowns of Hongkonger's fight for democracy during the anti-Extradition movement in 2019, the police siege against protesters in Polytechnic University (#PolyU).

Many Hongkongers that have recently arrived in the UK went to see this documentary. Among them was a pro-democracy supporters, K, who said she took part in one of the demonstrations near the university. K told reporters that the documentary has brought back memories of the crackdown and her involvement in those demonstrations.

She was very saddened because she knew that those endured the sufferings during the siege were ordinary youngsters, real people with flesh and blood. She couldn't help but shed tears as she watched the documentary.

K acknowledged that the screening in UK did provide a platform for Hongkongers to get together, so that they knew they were not alone and can seek support when needed.

She hopes for the documentary to be shown in other countries, to let the world better understand what is happening in Hong Kong. She believes that the question-and-answer session at the end of the show helped local people understand what Hong Kong people has gone through during the movement.

#PolyUseige #FightForFreedom #StandwithHK #Documentary #InsidetheRedBrickWall #HongKongCinema #Screening #London

Source: Stand News; #Sept12
https://www.thestandnews.com/international/%E7%90%86%E5%A4%A7%E5%9C%8D%E5%9F%8E%E8%8B%B1%E5%9C%8B%E9%A6%96%E6%94%BE%E6%98%A0-%E6%B8%AF%E4%BA%BA%E8%A7%80%E5%BD%B1%E8%90%BD%E6%B7%9A
#Court
Hong Kong Court Sends Three More Pro-democracy Protesters to Over 5 years in Jail for "Rioting", Causing Public Grievances

On September 25, 2021, the district court convicted three pro-democracy protesters of "rioting" during the police siege of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (#PolyU) in November 2019. The three young people were arrested during clashes in nearby Jordan as citizens attempted to break the police siege. They are sentenced to jail terms ranging from 5 years to 5 years and 8 months.

The defendants were calm when hearing the sentence. When the court adjourned, pro-democracy supporters waved to them and said, "hang on!". Some shout to the court, "there are no rioters, only tyranny!" and "Shame!"

Meanwhile, the mother of the principle defendant wept, shouting "unfair", "killing the innocent" and "my son is not guilty!" She continued to cry and almost collapsed in the corridor.

The families of other defendants tried to console her, pointing out that her son would be saddened seeing his mother in such a state: "We have to go through this together. We understand. It is not like we do not feel anything".

Many people in the courtroom broke into tears, mourning their fellow pro-democracy Hongkongers.

Source: InMedia #Sept25

https://bit.ly/3F0M15Z
#PoliticalProsecution #Rioting #PolyUSiege #HongkongProtesters #Solidarity
HK Documentary about #PolyUSiege Wins Grand Prize at International Documentary Festival in Japan

The documentary "Inside the Red Brick Wall", chronicling the 13-day police siege of #PolyU during the #AntiELAB movement, has won the grand prize at Japan's #Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival. This honor has never been won by a Hong Kong film in its three-decade history, until now.

The film was selected as the best Hong Kong film of 2020 by the Hong Kong Film Critics Society. However, it had been shunned by local cinemas after pro-government media labeled it anti-police and anti-government. Its premiere was cancelled only hours before its showing by the hosting cinema.

The panel of judges noted that the documentary showed citizens and students being trapped by the police inside Polytechnic University; it documented the reality of youngsters, including minors, as they faced these dire circumstances, whether or not they had food. Live footage also showed photographers being fired upon within the campus

[editor's note: according to statistics from Hong Kong Journalists Association, 3 journalists had been shot with pepper balls at close range].

The film itself carries historical significance.

The film's directors, listed as "Hong Kong Documentary Filmmakers", thanked the organizers through a pre-recorded video. They said that under Hong Kong's current oppressive environment, they must regroup and be formless like water, but believed that "we'll walk together again".

"To all who believe in freedom", they added, "The only response to oppression is resistance. We will keep moving, and keep on filming."

Source: Citizen News #Oct13
https://bit.ly/3awuc0v

#Film #Documentary #Resistance #ProtestArt #FilmFestival
#PoliceState
IPCC Said Nothing Wrong with Hong Kong Police Shooting Journist without Warning during #PolyUSiege

During the Anti-ELAB movement on November 18, 2019, pro-democracy protesters trapped in the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (#PolyU) attempted to break through the cordon line; however, the police outflanked them by splitting into 3 routes.

When a journalist from #StandNews was interviewing an arrestee, whose face was covered with blood, a sheriff from the Z4 Police Tactic Unit (#PTU) suddenly shot a #PepperBalls to the journalist's feet without warning.

Two years later, the Complaints Against Police Office (#CAPO) ruled that there was "nothing wrong" and the Independent Police Complaints Council (#IPCC) agreed with the classification.

CAPO replied in a letter regarding the case, claiming that police did not have a choice but to shoot the pepper balls and apply a minimum level of violence to disperse the crowd. The letter said that the aim was to "protect the police and the arrestees" and the reason was that "someone was non-stop chasing after the police" and "the police has asked people on site to leave, but they ignored".

There is a footnote in the letter, claiming that there is either a "misunderstanding," or "sufficient evidence showing the fairness and rationality of the actions carried out under #PoliceForceOrdinance."

Source: Stand News #Nov09
https://thestandnews.page.link/ZaikSY3mthxbyaVcA

#PoliceBrutality #PressFreedom #Journalist
Hong Kong's "Revolution of Our Times" Wins Best Documentary in Taiwan Film Awards;
Director: "This Film Belongs to Every Hongkonger Who Cried for Hong Kong"


"Revolution of Our Times" has won the Best Documentary at the 58th Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards in Taiwan.

Delivering his acceptance speech by video, director #KiwiChow thanked every person who was filmed and interviewed in this documentary.

One of them, Chow said, was a 16-year-old secondary school student. He was one of the Valiants and was trapped in the Polytechnic University along with Chow for several days during the #PolyU Siege. When he returned to class later. his identity was already made known, and he was trembling in fear when he stepped into his own classroom again. To his surprise, his classmates and teacher all hugged him. The whole room was in tears.

"I really wanted to include this scene in the film, but I couldn't. Still, I want Revolution of Our Times to be like this embrace. During the production, I cried many times. I felt like I relied on this film to comfort myself, to let out my anger and hate, to face my fears and trauma."

In closing, Chow remarked, "To those who remain in Hong Kong, including myself, those who are exiled overseas, and those in prison: My friends, although you may not have a chance to watch the film, I pray to my Heavenly Father that the mere existence of this film could be a comfort and an embrace. Thank you."

Source: Stand News #Nov27

https://thestandnews.page.link/EZfNdGW8CgCLuVVw6
#RevolutionOfOurTimes #GoldenHorse #FIlm #Award
#PTSD #Exile
2 Years Since
#PolyUSiege: Pro-Democracy Protester who Fled Hong Kong Missed Relative's Funeral, Fears Retribution from #Regime

#PolyU #PoylUSiege #Trauma #HKPoliceState

Source: In-Media HK; #Nov20

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