Project Detail

Black Bauhinia ()

Synopsis

BLACK BAUHINIA () is the first feature-length documentary film on Hong Kong localism and the independence movement, which fundamentally transformed Hong Kong’s domestic and international relations.

The debut film by director and co-producer Dr Malte Kaeding offers a balanced and critical assessment of a subject so complex and sensitive that local filmmakers have shied away from it. Based on Malte’s decade-long research on localism, he follows two young localist leaders’ emotional journey from electoral successes into prison and exile. The collaborative style of filmmaking allows for intimate reflections on the costs of resistance, self-sacrifices, and the meaning of home.

Throughout the film’s three-year production period, localism inspired the 2019 Hong Kong protests, while the ensuing government crackdown rendered the documentary into an outlawed element of resistance. BLACK BAUHINIA captures the ideas of a young generation that dared to challenge an authoritarian China.

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Details

Year: 2020
Type of film: Features
Running time: 76 min 55 sec
Format: digital
Director: Malte Philipp Kaeding 1st Feature
Producer: Malte Philipp Kaeding, Dr Hippo
Executive Producer: Malte Philipp Kaeding
Editor: Eget Recensor
Screenwriter: Dr Hippo, Malte Philipp Kaeding
Director of Photography: Wing Ko, Tommy Li
Composer: Stan Chan
Principal cast: Edward Leung, Ray Wong

Genre

Human Rights Asian

Production Status

Complete

Production Company

University of Surrey

Guildford
Surrey GU2 7XH

m.kaeding@surrey.ac.uk

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