Totalitarian Governments Will Try to Eliminate Films That Voice for Freedom: Hong Kong Film Director

(L-R) US actress and Berlinale jury President Kristen Stewart, jury members Hong Kong film director Johnnie To, German film director Valeska Grisebach, Spanish film director Carla Simon, Iranian-French actress Golshifteh Farahani, Romanian film director Radu Jude and US casting director Francine Maisler react on stage during the Opening Gala of the Berlinale, Europe's first major film festival of the year, in Berlin on February 16, 2023. Photo by Ronny HARTMANN / AFP

The 73rd Berlin Film Festival (Berlinale) opened on Feb. 16. Hong Kong film director Johnnie To, one of the jury members, said at the Q&A that the first thing totalitarian governments do is eliminate films. And that countries and people in the world who long for freedom must stand up and support the film industry because it is through the films that people’s voices can be heard loud and clear.

Seven members of the Berlinale jury attended the Q&A. The Chairperson of the jury was American actress Kristen Stewart, and other members included Iranian and French actress Golshifteh Farahani, German director Valeska Grisebach, and Romanian director Radu Jude.

To, one of the members, gave three answers in total, all of which were answered in Cantonese.

‘Movies Speak for The People’

During the press conference, a reporter asked: “Why is the cinema so important to us? Audiences sit in a dark room and watch movies on a big screen ... What makes the cinema so unique that lets it last forever?”

To responded, “I think movies are always at the forefront. When there is totalitarianism and people lose their freedom, movies are usually the first to bear the brunt. This is the case in many places. Totalitarianism tries its best to stop your culture. The culture of movies is that it goes directly into the audience, so dictators usually eliminate films first. I think Hong Kong ... No, sorry ... I think countries and people in the whole world fighting for freedom all support the movie world because it will speak for you.”

He added, “I think movies are not measured by their dollar value. I have made a few movies myself, the cost was no more than two million Hong Kong dollars (Approximately $255,000), and I was very happy and comfortable shooting. I think the most important things in movies are passion and vision. Without them, artists will be unable to do what they should do. Even if you are given $10 billion, if you don’t have it, you don’t have it, and if you have it, you have it.”

When one reporter asked which movie impressed the judges the most, To said frankly that the quality of movies all over the world has declined, and the world of movies he previously watched seems to be gradually disappearing. It is no longer the movie world he used to know. He hopes this situation is only temporary. He described his remarks as bold, but they were all “spoken from the heart.”

To Praised

The clip of the press conference aroused heated discussions on the Internet. Many netizens praised To for speaking out, and some netizens agreed with him. One netizen commented, “why some movies in Hong Kong are successful at the box office this year is because they delivered exactly the voice of Hong Kong people.” In addition, former Tuen Mun District Councilor Cheung Kam-hung wrote on Facebook: “So anyone who has not watched ”Say I Do to Me“ directed by Kiwi Chow (Director for Revolution of Our Times), please just go and grab a ticket!”

Three Time Best Director

To is a well-known film producer and director in Hong Kong, with more than 50 works under his name. Among them are “PTU,” “Running on Karma, Breaking News, Throw Down, Election,” and others. He has competed three times for the highest honor of the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival in Italy and has won three Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Director and three Golden Horse Awards for the same honor. In addition, he has also won the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award for Best Director six times and the Hong Kong Film Golden Bauhinia Award for Best Director three times. So far, he has been nominated for Best Director at the Hong Kong Film Awards a total of 18 times, and Best Director at the Golden Horse Awards eight times, and is the all-time most nominated director for the awards. He is also the only Hong Kong director to be a jury member of the main competition event at three major international film festivals (the 2008 Venice Film Festival, the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, and the Berlin Film Festival 2023).

Films Suppressed by Local Government

In Jan. 2020, the documentaries “Taking back the Legislature” and “Inside the Red Brick Wall” premiered at the 13th Hong Kong Independent Film Festival. However, after the promulgation of the Hong Kong National Security Law on June 30, 2020, local authorities required them to add the warning “may constitute a criminal offense according to the current law” and “some content or comments may not be substantiated or misleading,” to the films.

In March 2021, when Golden Scene Cinema planned to release “Inside the Red Brick Wall,” it was criticized by the local Chinese Communist Party (CCP) mouthpiece ”Wen Wei Po“ for ”violating the National Security Law.” In the end, Golden Scene Cinema canceled the screening.

On Oct. 27, 2022, one organization planned to screen “Batman: The Dark Knight” at an outdoor site in Central, but the local authorities said the film contained violent content and was not suitable for outdoor screening. Some critics believed that the actual reason was part of the movie involved Batman arresting a money launderer from mainland China in Hong Kong.

Popular Theme

The recently Hong Kong-produced law film “A Guilty Conscience” broke records and became the highest-grossing Hong Kong film ever. The official Facebook page of the film announced on Feb. 12 that its box office intake passed HK$90 million (Approximately $11.5 million) on the 23rd day of the screening run. It is the highest-grossing Hong Kong film ever.

The film tells a lawyer who takes on a major child abuse case that attracts the attention of the whole city. But he bungles it, and the innocent party lands in jail with a 17-year sentence. With the chance of an appeal and to right his wrong, he takes on the one-sided power inside the courtroom.

Film critic Fong Chun-kit analyzed in an interview with the Epoch Times on Feb. 4 that the theme of fighting against hegemony has always been popular, especially in the current social situation.“ A Guilty Conscience” is likely to arouse the emotion of the audience to “vent (their anger)” or “dream.”