I was in Hong Kong last week doing some research. Strange mixed moods. Filmart (the annual movie, trade fair) pretended all was normal (although the Chinese commercial film presence was massively dominant). HAF eliminated documentaries, to avoid trouble. M+ seems brilliant and vigorous, for now. 1/x
But the new security law, hastily rushed through Legco, was impossible to ignore. Friends watched a superb actor sentence to years in prison. But another, blacklisted actor is working again. As authorities attempt to subsume HK into just one part of the Greater Bay Area, much is still possible. 3/3
I met with a range of filmmakers, some seeing sustained possibilities of better cooperation with China (not my kind of analysis, but interesting to hear), some determined to go ahead and create a new space for good work, some cautious, some lowering their profiles as much as possible. 2/x