Please note: This was screened in April 2022
This gripping documentary follows seven groups of protestors involved in the 2019 Hong Kong pro-democracy protests whose mission was to uphold free speech. These protests lead to thousands of protestors being arrested following the police crackdown and the imposition of much tighter restrictions by the Chinese Communist Party over Hong Kong.
Hongkongers are no strangers to the fight for freedom and democracy but have yet to succeed. In 2019, The Extradition Law was proposed, which would have allowed the extradition of Hongkongers to China for prosecution. This opened a Pandora’s box of city-wide resistance, turning Hong Kong into a battlefield against the Chinese authoritarian rule.
Directed by Kiwi Chow, it was filmed in total secrecy to protect the participants from the strict censorship laws and limits to freedom of speech imposed by Beijing. In fact before it was screened at last year’s Cannes Film Festival no one knew of its existence and all the credits are either anonymised or incomplete. Revolution of our Time is a compelling picture of a movement fighting to uphold human rights.