Desk Report
Publish: 21 Sep 2021, 02:54 pm
Representational Image || Photo: Collected
Once renowned
for world-class cinema, Hong Kong's film industry was already struggling before
the latest hurdle --Chinese mainland-style censorship as authorities take their
purge of dissent into the cultural sphere.
Filmmaker Mok
Kwan-ling's heart sank when the email from the government censors dropped.
In June,
authorities announced all films would now be scrutinised for "national
security" breaches. Mok's was the first known to have fallen foul of these
rules.
For months, she had been putting together her debut, a 27-minute drama inspired by the many young couples she encountered during huge democracy protests two years ago.
It tells the
story of a young woman meeting her boyfriend's parents after he is arrested for
taking part in the protests. The boyfriend's mother is opposed to the movement,
his father sympathetic.
The Cantonese
title "Zap Uk" (literally "clean up the house") is a reference
to how friends and family would often remove any incriminating items once a
loved one was arrested.
But Mok said
Hong Kong's film censors were not happy with what was submitted and ordered her
to make 14 cuts.
Among the
changes they demanded was removing a line from the father saying their son was
a first aid volunteer who was "only out there to save the people" as
well as deleting a scene where the same character, a truck driver, charges
protesters a discounted fare.
The censors
also demanded the film be renamed and carry a warning that it showed criminal
offences.
"I
thought the story was rather balanced by presenting voices of two sides,"
Mok told AFP.
"It
turned out that one particular side is not allowed to be heard."
Mok felt the
cuts would leave her film "devoid of essence and sense" so she put it
aside for now.
“My film
happened to be the first but it won't be the last," she warned.
AFP has contacted Hong Kong's Film Censorship Authority for comment.
- Golden era
dulled -
In the 1980s
and 1990s, Hong Kong was known as "The Hollywood of the Far East",
with a cast of globally recognised stars like Chow Yun-fat and auteurs such as
Wong Kar-wai.
The golden age
of Cantonese cinema has long been eclipsed by the rise of mainland Chinese and
South Korean films.
But the city
maintained a vibrant indie scene, shielded by free speech protections that
allowed directors to tackle subjects that would be untouchable on the
authoritarian mainland.
Those days are
now over.
China is rapidly remoulding Hong Kong in its
own image after the democracy protests, and films are just the latest in a long
list of targets.
On top of the
new scrutiny rules, a law making its way through the legislature will expand
censorship to films previously given clearance as well as tightening the
punishment for breaches.
Kiwi Chow was
one of five directors who contributed short stories for "Ten Years".
The 2015 film
painted a dystopian portrait of what Hong Kong might look like in a decade with
Beijing stifling freedoms and the city's Cantonese culture.
As well as
being prescient, "Ten Years" was a commercial hit and won best film
at the city's annual awards.
But it is
unlikely that a production like that could now be made -- or even shown.
"They are trying to clamp down on our memory and imagination," Chow told AFP.
- Pop star
blacklisted –
Chow's latest
project "Revolution of Our Times" is a 2.5 hour-long documentary on
the 2019 protests.
Organizers
secretly added it to the Cannes Festival lineup earlier this summer --
only once the mainland Chinese films had been shown.
But Chow said
he has given up any hope of showing it in Hong Kong.
"If it is
dangerous and risky for filmmakers to touch upon social issues... then I could
only screen it outside Hong Kong," Chow said.
To protect
himself, he said, he has sold the copyright and disposed of all locally held
footage. The production team, collaborators and financial backers have chosen
to remain anonymous.
Still, some
investors and actors have backed out of his non-political productions and a
recent screening of a romance he made was raided by police.
Fear of
angering Beijing has long fuelled self-censorship in Hong Kong's arts, but
mainland-style blacklisting of those who speak out is now also happening.
Earlier this
month, pro-democracy pop star Denise Ho was forced to cancel her concert after
the venue pulled out citing "public security" concerns just days
before her performance.
But Chow
predicts censorship will do little to change Hong Kongers' desire for a greater
say in how their city is run and smacks of weakness. (AFP)
"The more
is banned in the name of national security, the less secure the state will
be," he said.
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