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hong kong officials have Public screening banned Kiwi Chow’s deadlinesaying that the film could be “Detrimental to national security”,
Chow said on Facebook that the official body responsible for classifying films for public screening had informed him that they would not issue a screening license for the film.
The 44-year-old filmmaker said the decision by the Office of Film, Newspaper and Articles Administration came after nearly four months of censorship review of the film. This decision prevents it from being shown legally in cinemas or other public places in Hong Kong.
In his statement, written in Chinese and translated online, Chou wrote that Decision based on national security law passed in 2020was “absurd, excessive, rude and unjust”.
Chow said that if he screened the film without approval, he could face a fine of up to HK$1m (£96,000) and even a prison sentence of up to three years.
The filmmaker said he had spoken to a lawyer about filing an appeal, but was told that “in the era of judicial collapse, there is no point in suing the government”.
He said, “If I had lost the case, I could have faced the government having to reimburse me more than a million dollars in legal fees.”
“The national security law has brought disaster to Hong Kong and this is another matter. Originally a commercial film, it has now been passively transformed into a political program, and absurdly judged as a film that is not conducive to national security. It is painful to accept the reality that the film cannot be screened in Hong Kong.”
Chow vowed to continue making films and said he was looking forward to when his film would be released in Hong Kong, where he was born.
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He said, “May Hong Kong get justice. I believe God will not abandon the city, and neither will I.”
Chow last month alleged “unreasonable delays” in the review after receiving no updates on his application for three months. “Stop ‘imprisoning’ this film in the name of censorship or national security. Release.” deadlineHe had written.
The Hong Kong Film Office usually completes the review within 14 days.
deadlineFilmed in Taiwan and starring veteran actor Anthony Wong Chau-sang, it is set in a secondary school where a suicide note is revealed shortly before an exam and sparks a chain of events that exposes the institutional pressures and moral breakdown within the education system.
according to hong kong free pressThe Film Office letter did not specify which elements of the film were harmful to national security.
In a statement, the office said it processed all applications in accordance with the law. “The Film, Newspaper and Articles Administration Office has always been processing film censorship applications in accordance with the law. OFNAA will not comment on individual applications.”,
deadline The ban falls within a broader crackdown on film and cultural production following the introduction of the national security law.
In 2021, Hong Kong amended its film censorship ordinance to allow authorities to refuse or revoke a screening license if a film is deemed harmful to national security, bringing cinema regulation in line with the security framework imposed by China.
Under the amended system, films can be banned outright instead of classified and approval can be withdrawn even after a license has been granted, increasing uncertainty for filmmakers and exhibitors.
Chow told Reuters at the time that he would have to find new inventors to complete his film, say i do meThe love story of an influential man who plans to marry himself. Investors had withdrawn about 80 percent of their funding and their lead actors had also walked out.
“They think their business ChinaSo even if there is a slight risk, they all consider it unacceptable, needless to say that in their eyes, it is a very big risk,” he said.
Chow is one of Hong Kong’s most controversial filmmakers, who has repeatedly tested the boundaries of political expression on screen.
He first attracted international attention in 2015 ten yearsAn anthology film imagining a near-future Hong Kong under authoritarian rule. According to ABC News, officials pulled the film from theaters and described it as a “virus of the brain.”
his 2021 documentary revolution of our timesDescribing the city’s pro-democracy protests, it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and won awards overseas but is unofficially banned in Hong Kong, with no clearance for public screenings in the city.
Independent The Film, Newspaper and Article Administration Office has been contacted for comment.