By Associated Press
CANNES (France): The Cannes movie competition is ready to display screen a documentary on the 2019 crackdown on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy motion on Friday, July 16, 2021, doubtlessly risking diplomatic tensions with China.
A late entry slotted for the competition’s penultimate day, “Revolution of our Times” chronicles the Hong Kong authorities’s violent suppression of protests sparked by the introduction of an extradition invoice permitting Hong Kong residents to be handed over to China for prosecution.
“This film is free from self-censorship,” director Kiwi Chow stated. “In many documentaries made about the movement, filmmakers are under immense pressure due to the current political climate of the city. I made this film completely free from any external influences,” he stated.
The Cannes management stated it had been unaware of the movie, the situations of its manufacturing or the identification of the filmmaker earlier than it was despatched to the competition.
“But we were enthusiastic immediately,” competition director Thierry Fremaux.
“The festival is proud to present this film to show an important moment in world events. This has been Cannes’s tradition and calling since 1946,” he added.
For round 152 minutes, the documentary explores the protest motion, which had no clear chief, from the within.
The involvement of atypical residents is outstanding within the movie, lots of them younger, their faces hidden by masks or blurred in post-production.
“I wanted to account for the development, what brought us to this point,” Chow stated. “I want to tell the story of Hong Kong to people who don’t know about Hong Kong.”
A wealth of footage of pitched battles and combating round barricades reveals Hong Kong police utilizing excessive brutality.
Images present extreme beatings of demonstrators rounded up in police traps, folks pushed out of home windows and suspected drownings.
Chow stated he felt “anxiety and fear in my heart” making the documentary, and predicted that it’s going to not be proven publicly in Hong Kong the place police surveillance of potential protests has been beefed up.
Some of its protagonists — who might face prosecution underneath a brand new China-sponsored safety regulation — are actually in exile, some are in jail and others lacking, Chow stated.
Cannes has dealt with the movie with uncommon discretion, permitting solely a handful of accredited reporters to see it earlier than a single scheduled public screening headlined “surprise documentary” on Friday, July 16.
