Hong Kong authorities have banned director Kiwi Chow Kwun-wai’s latest film, the campus thriller Deadline, citing national security concerns, according to the award-winning filmmaker, whose previous documentary on the 2019 social unrest was also barred from cinemas.
Chow, whose past works include Revolution of Our Times, a documentary on the anti-government protests, and Ten Years, an anthology film, revealed in a social media post on Tuesday that he had received an official letter denying approval for the release of Deadline in Hong Kong.
The 46-year-old director said his team submitted the film, starring veteran actor Anthony Wong Chau-sang, for review by the Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration on August 4, adding that it took more than four months before authorities issued their decision.
The office informed him that, after reviewing all relevant factors, assessors deemed the general release of the film detrimental to national security and therefore unsuitable for screening.
The office told the Post that it regularly assessed film screening licence applications in accordance with the law, but declined to comment on individual cases.
Chow described the decision as painful and unfair, saying the film was intended as a commercial thriller but had been “passively turned into a political incident”.
He said he had considered filing a judicial review, but received legal advice suggesting it could be pointless to sue the government in what he called an era of “judicial collapse”.
“My response to this blow is that I will keep filming,” he said, adding that he hoped Deadline could one day be screened in the city.
“May justice come to Hong Kong. I believe God will not abandon the city, nor will I.”
The film, which was shot in Taiwan and premiered there last month, blends elements of suspense and horror. Set in an elite private school, it explores the structural problems and human darkness that arise under a high-pressure education system.
Chow has repeatedly faced restrictions on his works in Hong Kong, with several of his productions either denied approval or effectively barred from local release due to national security concerns. Both Revolution of Our Times and Ten Years – an anthology film comprising five short films by different directors – sparked controversy.
Although Chow’s films have struggled to reach audiences in Hong Kong, he has earned recognition abroad.
Revolution of Our Times premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival in France and later won the best documentary award at the 58th Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan. The director previously said he had sold the film’s copyright to protect himself from legal repercussions. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
