A two-and-a-half-hour documentary on the anti-government
protests that rocked Hong Kong in 2019 won the prestigious Golden Horse Awards
in Taiwan on Saturday. The film titled “Revolution of Our Times” is directed by
42-year-old Kiwi Chow Kwun. The film title is derived from a popular slogan of
the protests and brings to light the plight of frontline demonstrators and how
they operated despite rising violence and unrest.

The film, while based on the Hong Kong protests, could not be
shot in Hong Kong because Kiwi Chow Kwun thought it would be a risky move The film could
not be in Hong Kong because Chow thought it would be a risky move, challenging
the safety of the cinema operators,
interviewees and most importantly his team, he told The Washington Post.

Crowds sang along to the song “Hong Kong
add oil” as the film received the award, even though none of the film crew were
present.

Chow accepted the award via a
pre-recorded video message. In his speech he mentioned that he wishes to
dedicate his film to “Hongkongers who have a conscience, justice and who
have cried for Hong Kong.”

The
42-year-old director said, “I cried many times when making the film and many
times I found comfort, vented my anger and hatred, and faced my fear and trauma
through this film. To those who have remained in Hong Kong, myself included,”
he said, choking back tears, “and to those to have emigrated overseas, or those
who are in prison, even though you may not have the opportunity to see the
film, I really pray to God that the mere existence of this film can give you
solace and an embrace.” 

Screened
at Cannes Film Festival in
July, Chow tried to protect himself from any legal backlash by selling off the
copyright of the work.   

Also
read: Hong Kong police
make national security arrests over campus protest

“The
Falls, ” directed by Taiwan’s Chung Mong-hong received the best
narrative feature this year. The story is set in Taiwan and revolves around a
distraught mother-daughter relationship, when they were forced to spend time
together the COVID-19 inflicted quarantine.

“Drifting,”
a Hong Kong film directed by Sham Shui P received 12 nominations that
included best cinematography, best director and best leading actor.  The
film won the prize for the best adapted screenplay. The film is inspired
from a court case of 2012, and highlights the plight of homeless people that
reside in the working class neighbourhood.

The
Taiwan-based Golden Horse Awards began in 1962 with the aim of showcasing
Chinese-language films from all across the worlds, widening its area of genres
and demographics. It is sometimes known as Asia’s Oscars and
holds a lot of value in the media industry.

Also
read: China slams US
for inviting Taiwan for ‘Summit for Democracy’

China
considers Taiwan to be a self-ruled territory and has vowed to take control
over it. Chinese legislators passed a bill last month, to tighten the city’s
film censorship laws. The bill allows the government to ban any work from the
media sector which it deems to be contrary to national peace and
security.