San Francisco Frontiers - Banned film exposes Hong Kong's censorship trend, director says

The 46-year-old's career, which took off in 2015 with an award-winning dystopian tale, encapsulates how a film industry once known for its audacious spirit and sardonic humour has dimmed to leave artists describing a creative straitjacket.

His latest thriller "Deadline" tells the story of an elite school rattled by warnings of an impending suicide, Chow told AFP in an interview on Wednesday, describing the work as an allegory for hyper-competition under capitalism.

The movie was filmed in Taiwan but set in what Chow called an "imaginary world".

"(Censors) determined that it was 'contrary to the interests of national security'... But how? Nobody gave an explanation," the director said, calling the decision "absurd".

Beijing imposed a strict national security law on Hong Kong in 2020 after huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in the finance hub. Film censorship rules were tightened a year later.

After that, Chow said, the film industry stepped up self-censorship.

"If it involves Hong Kong's real political situation, absolutely no one will make a movie about it," he said.

Asked about "Deadline", the Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration said it would not comment on individual applications.

Censors banned 13 films, citing national security reasons, between 2021 and July this year, while 50 films were "required to be modified", the office told AFP.

Hong Kong banned no films between 2016 and 2020, but that figure jumped to 10 in 2023.

Chow said he believes his film was rejected not because of its content, but because his years flouting Beijing's taboos have put him on an informal blacklist.

"I want to collaborate with actors, seek out locations and investors, but it is very difficult," he said.

"I felt so lonely," he said of making "Deadline".

- Decade in hindsight -

On December 17, 2015, "Ten Years" premiered in Hong Kong and showcased five dystopian vignettes -- including one directed by Chow -- at a time when many residents feared Beijing's growing political influence in the semi-autonomous city.

Speaking to AFP exactly 10 years later, Chow recalled how crowds flocked to community screenings after some mainstream cinemas refused to show the film.

"Many people felt that 'Ten Years' depicted Hong Kong's predicament... and how freedoms could be lost. (They felt) this was prophesied in the film and it came true," Chow said.

Chow's segment of the film, titled "Self-immolator", ends with a fictional elderly woman dousing herself in petrol and flicking a lighter.

"The self-immolator was a symbol of sacrifice. I wanted to ask Hong Kongers: 'How much are you willing to sacrifice for values like freedom and justice?'" he said, adding that his ideas on sacrifice are shaped by his Christian faith.

He said he got his answer during the 2019 pro-democracy protests, which were unprecedented in scale and ferocity and led to more than 10,200 arrests and more than 2,000 people sanctioned by law.

In 2019, Chow was near the end of the production cycle of a romantic drama film, but he also shot extensive footage of the protests that would become the documentary "Revolution of Our Times".

The documentary premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in July 2021, but Chow never tried to screen it in Hong Kong and kept the entire production team anonymous.

"After making 'Revolution of Our Times', I expected not to be able to make movies for quite a long time, and was mentally prepared to go to jail," he said.

- 'Risk' -

While the documentary did not land Chow in prison, the filmmaker said he paid a steep price as investors and collaborators deserted him, almost dooming "Deadline".

Chow said he could not secure a single Hong Kong school as a filming location, prompting him to move the production to Taiwan, where the film was released last month.

The long-awaited Hong Kong censorship decision came as a blow, particularly for the film's commercial prospects.

"The government took an official stance that this film was contrary to the interest of national security, which could be a first (for me), and adds some level of risk and anxiety," Chow said.

Some of Chow's supporters in Hong Kong travelled to Taiwan for special screenings of "Deadline", though one organiser said he was searched by customs upon his return.

Hong Kong customs declined to comment on individual cases.

Chow did not want to "abandon" his city despite feeling that political censorship was creating headwinds for his work.

"Maybe I will lower my budget or change the script," he said.

"As long as (the film) can be made in Hong Kong, then I haven't given up."

Q.Nelson--SFF