Christopher Doyle, or Dù Kěfēng in Mandarin, is an Australian-Hong Kong cinematographer who often works on Chinese language films. Christopher Doyle has won international acclaim for films like Wong Kar-wai’s “In the Mood for Love” and Zhang Yimou’s “Hero,” both of which came out at the beginning of the turn of the century.
Roughly a year ago, Hong Kong erupted in mass youth protest. The goal: to prevent the government in Beijing from controlling local elections. Christopher Doyle is now releasing a film where he chronicles the events.
According to Joyce Lau’s September 2015 New York Times article, “Capturing the Voices of Hong Kong,” “Doyle crept into the protest zone at the break of dawn, when demonstrators were sleeping, and filmed details of daily life: a little girl delivering water, a lone teenager in the makeshift study area, a middle-aged man collecting garbage on a metal cart.” Doyle, at the age of 63, managed to capture the “intense and prolonged waiting” of the movement.
The footage has been included in Doyle’s film, “Hong Kong Trilogy,” which had its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last month. In Hong Kong, it is set to premier on the one-year anniversary of the police’s tear-gas assault on student protesters. Further, it is expected to also be shown in Denmark, South Korea, and India.
The movie is said to have both fiction and nonfiction elements as it uses “the voices of real Hong Kong people” as a “blueprint for this story of three generations in our city.” Said three generations are, “schoolchildren (‘Preschooled’), twentysomething activists (‘Preoccupied’) and the elderly (‘Preposterous’).”
The film has been largely crowd funded, having raised $125,000 of the $200,000 total budget online. This shows the growing public hankering for films that cover politically sensitive event. What makes Doyle’s work so noteworthy is the fact that it covers topics that the Chinese government tries to push under the table despite needing to be resolved.
Despite how unique one culture can be from another, a need for a democratic system of government knows no cultural bound. However, the Chinese government is attempt to abridge this right of civilians in Hong Kong.
I agree that a democratic system of government knows no cultural bond. You did a good job in expressing who Doyle is and what he is doing. However, I would like to suggest adding some more context to the post. For example, you bring up the idea that the Chinese government is attempting to abridge the freedom of expression but you never expressed fully on how the Chinese government is censoring the film in the previous paragraphs. Additionally, I do appreciate that you brought up statistics to demonstrate the amount of public support for this film.
Hi Vincent, you introduce to us another medium of art – movies. Movies are very powerful because one can fill so much information and interpretation into a video that people will enjoy or learn from. I believe it is a lot easier to convey a message or convey something to an audience in the form of a movie better than a photograph or painting can. Showing this movie to people world-wide will definitely get the message across and more can be aware about this issue.
Often, people don’t generally think of film as art. It’s good to show that it can definitely be a multifaceted form of expression. It’s very interesting that Doyle is creating a sort of documentary using fictional and factual events and evidence. Indeed, the oppressiveness of the Chinese government is a subject that needs to be broadcasted and made known throughout the world as something that is problematic in our modern day society. Clearly, Doyle is doing this in a wildly creative manner, and I only hope that this film will escape Chinese censorship.
We have read many articles regarding how art help to raise awareness, for example the photographs of Syrian children. This is yet another case of that. The film is set to raise awareness of the situation in Hong Kong and to try to push the Chinese government to do something about it instead of brushing it under the rug. I think the message from the film will be stronger due to the fact that there are both fiction and nonfiction elements used. Also the fact that Doyle portrays three different age group allows a bigger audience to connect with the film. I was born in Hong Kong but I moved to U.S. when I was around 5 years old. Therefore I don’t know or understand the struggles of the people there without democracy. I would definitely like to watch this film to understand my home city more.
There has always been a problem with democracy in Hong Kong. Starting from when Hong Kong was returned to China, the issue of democracy has always been an issue of political interest. I think this film does a good job in portraying the everyday lives of the Hong Kong people, providing a wide range of depictions of people of various ages. I find it admirable that people are willing to donate so much money for the creation of this film. Usually, the people of China would rather refrain from getting involved in political turmoil because they do not want to get in trouble with the government. I would like to take a look at the movie myself and see if I can relate in a figurative sense to the struggle of the students and people of Hong Kong who are still trying to find their identity.
Sometimes we forget that Hong Kong is under the tight rule of the Chinese rule because Hong Kong is always known as a booming city that incorporates Asian and Western cultures. Hong Kong’s democracy is a vital reason why the country has succeeded over the years. I’ve been to Hong Kong before and I could see that the society was highly capitalistic just like the United States, which thrives on the people’s willingness to make money. It is very interesting that a movie is a form of art; rarely, people see movies as art because most modern movies are mindless. I would love to watch this movie because it is crowd funded, so it isn’t ran by any major movie corporation. This makes the movie more raw and truthful to an extent.
I’m glad that this film is getting recognition. Hopefully, its publicity allows the students of Hong Kong to garner enough support in order to get the Chinese government to back off. I don’t know how any modern government could treat their citizens like this, it is truly disgraceful and needs to change.
Film is a very powerful medium that has the power to influence society. Countless movies have taken advantage this ability, from our beloved Star Wars released during the Cold War to direct works of propaganda released during war time. Seeing something on a screen makes it less easy to ignore and, as such, I think using film as a means to advocate democracy in Hong Kong would be very effective. Unfortunately, the Chinese government is notorious for its censorship in the arts and on the internet, so it is unlikely that this film will reach large audiences within the country. Internationally however, this film could spark advocacy for the movement and bring it to light in global news coverage. Since Hong Kong was British for many years, it is unfair for the government in Beijing to impose its system upon the micro-culture. Hopefully the entire world will soon agree.
Christopher Doyle is brave for going against the government and exposing its corruption. A true artist is one that sees no hurdles when it comes to creating art. I feel that a movie is a great way to show the whole world the struggles of the Chinese protestors in a way that will make people feel something. I agree that a need for democracy is not just in certain countries, but all over the world. People have a right to fight for their freedoms and I hope that the Chinese students succeed in their protest.
I think the medium Doyle is using to shed light on an important topic is very effective. Movies can do a lot to inform and teach people about different cultures, histories or pressing global issues. Movies place the audience into a different world and for about two hours, the audience often experiences whatever struggle the characters face. As a result, when people can see firsthand causes and effects of the Chinese government preventing Hong Kong from having local elections, we can begin to feel empathy with the people of Hong Kong. We don’t toss off Hong Kong as another place that is vying for democracy because we may associate a face or a personal story with the issue.
This sounds like a very interesting film. I wonder if it will be available in the United States with English subtitles because I really want to see it. It makes me happy that this movie has a very productive meaning and can educate the world on a very serious issue; any government that controls election is one that needs serious reform. Additionally, it’s absolutely amazing how much money was raised for this very important cause. I hope that this film will make some serious changes in the government regarding elections.
I also agree that movies are a great medium to express ideas. Moving arts show emotions and move people in different ways than words or still art. It’s also interesting that you mentioned that the movie is being publicly funded by the people . In today’s modern age it is so much easier to acquire funding to accomplish great things.
Hello Vincent, I think that works like these are imperative in creating social changes of any kind in and in any society. I think this sentiment in Hong Kong was inevitable because, as history shows through the many revolutions that have occurred, people seek autonomy. I think this situation is vaguely similar to the American Revolution in which the colonies revolted because they were being taxed without representation in parliament. Hong Kong needs to govern themselves.