Hong Kong director Kiwi Chow ‘disappointed’ over sudden cancellation of film screenings
Hong Kong Free Press
MCL Cinemas in Hong Kong has called off two special screenings of a film directed by Kiwi Chow, who was also the director of a 2019 protest documentary, without giving any reason.
The theatre chain announced on Tuesday afternoon that next month’s special programme featuring two screenings of Beyond The Dream, which was first shown publicly in 2020, had been cancelled.
According to the cancellation notice on MCL’s Facebook page, the screenings were set to take place on June 15 and June 28 at the cinema’s branch in Tsim Sha Tsui shopping mall The One. The cinema did not give a reason for the cancellation.
Directed by Chow, the film revolves around a primary school teacher who is recovering from schizophrenia and his romantic encounters with a young woman. It saw box office success in Hong Kong and won the Best Adapted Screenplay at the 57th Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan.
Chow told HKFP on Wednesday that he learned about the screenings through the distributor of Beyond The Dream last Friday, a day before MCL’s promotional work began. He shared the cinema’s post on his Facebook account, but some of his friends noticed his name was not included in the publicity materials.
The director said some people had said on social media that the web page for purchasing tickets to the screenings was not working late on Monday. Chow later got confirmation from the distributor that MCL had scrapped the screenings, but no reason was provided.
Chow told HKFP that he had “got used to” cancellations after many public events had been called off after his documentary on the 2019 extradition bill unrest, Revolution of Our Times, was released. But he did not expect MCL to scrap these screenings, as the theatre chain had not invited him to join the event.
“Of course I am disappointed. On one hand, I really wanted the film to have a chance to meet the audience again,” Chow said by phone in Cantonese on Wednesday.
“On the other hand, I was disappointed at how absurd it was. Behind this absurdity is, of course, what you can call self-censorship and cancellation culture in society,” he continued.
Protest documentary
Described by Chow as an “emotional vent” for Hongkongers, Revolution of Our Times premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021, before winning best documentary at Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards that November. The film has never been officially screened in Hong Kong.
An HKFP reporter posing as a customer on Wednesday morning asked MCL’s ticketing office why the screenings had been cancelled; the staff said they were unsure.
HKFP has reached out to MCL for comment.
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