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.
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
RSS