Filmmaker Kiwi Chow (周冠威) on Saturday won Best Documentary Feature at the Golden Horse Awards for Revolution of Our Times (時代革命), which documents mass protests in Hong Kong in 2019 and is intended to offer solace to Hong Kongers everywhere.
Addressing the event in a prerecorded video message, Chow said that the film, which follows protesters marching against a controversial extradition bill, belongs to each Hong Konger who “has a conscience, a sense of justice and has shed tears for Hong Kong.”
One of the people interviewed for the film is a 16-year-old student Chow accompanied during a police siege at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the filmmaker said.
Photo: CNA
As the student’s involvement in the siege was widely known, returning to class was a terrifying experience for him, Chow said.
The student feared reprisals, but everyone in the classroom, including his teacher, gave him a hug, Chow said.
“I hope Revolution of Our Times can be like this hug. I cried a lot throughout the making of the film. Many times, I relied on it for comfort, and to release my anger and hatred,” Chow said, adding that making the film also helped him cope with fear and trauma.
“For those who are still in Hong Kong, including me, the many people who are in exile overseas and our compatriots in prison, even if you don’t have a chance to see the film, I hope and I pray to God, that the mere existence of this film can provide a sense of solace and be a hug. Thank you,” he said.
The documentary, which runs two hours and 32 minutes, was released in July and screened at the Cannes Film Festival. It traces the protests against a proposed extradition bill that many Hong Kongers felt would allow China to encroach on Hong Kong’s judicial independence.
The film highlights the at times deeply personal perspectives and stories of multiple protesters, and offers a broader picture of the movement and an understanding of its historical context.
The 42-year-old Chow last year won a Golden Horse award in the Best Adapted Screenplay category for the film Beyond the Dream.
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