TAIPEI—A documentary about pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong won a high-profile award at the Golden Horse Awards, the Chinese-speaking world’s version of the Oscars, in Taiwan on Saturday.
Kiwi Chow’s “Revolution of Our Times” was named best documentary, prompting a long round of applause and shouts of support for Hong Kong from audience members at the glitzy event in Taipei.
Chow, who sent a pre-recorded message from Hong Kong expressing thanks for the award, dedicated the film to Hong Kong’s people, saying he hoped it would bring them some comfort.
“I cried a lot when I produced this film; several times I comforted myself with this film, to express my anger, hatred, to face my fear and trauma,” he said, his voice cracking with emotion.
Native Hongkonger Chow’s film follows several protesters and documents clashes with police during the 2019 demonstrations, and he has previously told Reuters he hoped the documentary would help the pro-democracy movement live on.
It was shown at this year’s Cannes Film Festival in a surprise addition to the line-up.
The Chinese regime introduced a draconian law for Hong Kong—which it named “national security law”—over a year ago to suppress what it deems subversion, secessionism, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces.
Since then, cinemas, universities, and art galleries have cancelled screenings or exhibitions of protest-related works.
The protesters have won broad support and sympathy in democratically-ruled Taiwan.
The Chinese communist regime in 2019 blocked the country’s movie industry from participating in the Golden Horse Awards, which were founded in 1962 and take place annually in Taiwan.
The Chinese regime claims the island as its own, despite the fact that Taiwan is a de facto independent country, with its own military, democratically-elected government, and constitution.
