Hong Kong protest documentaries made to jump through hoops by classification authority...

[ASFN Admin]

A Hong Kong regulatory body has been accused of creating obstacles to the screening of two independent films documenting last year’s anti-government protests by “coercing” filmmakers to add warnings to the productions and rating one “adult only” just two hours before the event.Vincent Tsui Wan-shun, artistic director of Ying E Chi Cinema, a local non-profit arts group that distributed the documentaries, vowed to appeal the decisions of the Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration (OFNAA) after the films screened at the Hong Kong Arts Centre on Monday night.Tsui said the film classification authority ordered them to warn the audience that some of the “depictions and acts” featured in the two films “might constitute criminal offences”, then insisted they not reveal the warnings came from the authorities.Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China.“We had already compromised by adding the warnings as requested. It’d be very problematic if the audience misunderstood and thought the warnings were from the filmmakers,” Tsui told the Post on Tuesday.At the centre of the controversy are two documentaries directed by anonymous filmmakers about major clashes between anti-government protesters and police last year: Inside the Red Brick Wall, which captured last November’s siege of the Polytechnic University (PolyU) campus, and Taking Back the Legislature, centred on the storming of the Legislative Council building on July 1, 2019.The distributor of the two documentaries expressed “strong discontent” via its Facebook page on Monday night about the last-minute classification of its PolyU film as Category III – suitable only for persons aged 18 or above – two hours before its 7:45pm premiere.The group also apologised to those under 18 who bought the tickets, as they were forced to arrange immediate refunds.Ying E Chi accused OFNAA of using “whatever administrative reasons they might come up with” to bar them from screening the films and coercing them into making statements against their wills.Under the Film Censorship Ordinance, a film intended for exhibition in Hong Kong at any public place must be submitted to OFNAA for prior approval.According to its performance pledge listed on the website, it targets 22 working days from assigning film viewing sessions for classification to issuing certificates for advertising materials. Hong Kong protests inspire film festival organisers from Rotterdam to New YorkThe group said it had applied for a Certificate of Approval for both documentaries in mid July. The regulatory agency then requested they add warnings at the beginning of both films reading “some of these depictions or acts might constitute criminal offences under prevailing laws”.The group added they were also asked to add the line “some of the contents or commentaries in the film may be unverified or misleading” to the PolyU film.The filmmakers’ group said it first declined to add the messages, as they “did not reflect the views of the director and the production team”, but the office responded that the administrative procedures might be lengthened by the refusal.The filmmakers eventually compromised by submitting a version on September 3 with the requested warnings, which also declared the added warnings had come from OFNAA. CCTV documentary accuses opposition of colluding with ‘anti-China forces’ to foment protestsOn Friday, three days before the scheduled screenings, the office told the group they could not attribute the warnings to them and requested amendments, the arts group said. The authorities only approved the screenings two hours beforehand, after the filmmakers had removed the attribution, at the same time classifying the PolyU documentary as an adults-only film.“We would hate to have the truth buried by the Hong Kong government or to let those in power rewrite history,” Ying E Chi said on Facebook.“From now on, please do not be misled by any bizarre statements in movies and misunderstand the directors.”The group, founded by independent filmmakers, is financially supported by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council and has been screening local productions since 1997.The Post has contacted OFNAA for response.This article Hong Kong protest documentaries made to jump through hoops by classification authority ahead of screening, local film group says first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020.

Continue reading...