Former Teacher Hosts Arts Exhibition to Recall Hongkongers' Memory on Pro-democracy Movement

#Vawongsir, a former secondary school teacher and a cartoonist, has been hosting an art exhibition for 2 months at a cafe called Retold at Tsuen Wan's The Mill in Hong Kong since December 2021.

The exhibition displayed 12 artworks by Vawongsir, including one portraying a boy hiding his face, sobbing bitterly in bed at midnight.

Vawongsir sighs that people reduce their concerns about social movement and he hopes the exhibition can recall people's memory. "Hope people will not forget about me, as well as the past incidents."

Vawongsir was accused by the authorities of "professional misconduct", due to his support of the pro-democracy movement.

Recently, he hoped to return to teach by working as a substitute teacher to support his family; however, no school is willing to employ teachers who had been issued a warning letter by the government . All applicantions he sent out had been rejected.

In midst of his hard time, his laptop, which he used to produce illustrations, have also broke down.

Source: Inmedia #Dec23
https://bit.ly/3J29FAZ

#NSL #AntiELABMovement #Teacher #Education #PoliticalSuppression #PoliceState #ProtestArt

#ProtestArt
Revolution of Our Times Wins "Most Influential" & "Best Cultural Image" Awards at FIPADOC Festival in France

Source: Commons HK; #Jan24

#RevolutionOfOurTimes #FIPADOC #Film #Award

Read more
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#ProtestArt
Revolution of Our Times Wins "Most Influential" & "Best Cultural Image" Awards at FIPADOC Festival in France

Revolution of Our Times, a documentary banned in Hong Kong chronicling the 2019 Anti-ELAB Movement, has won two awards at the 2022 FIPADOC International Documentary Festival in France, in the catagories of "Most influential" and "Best Cultural Image".

This is the second time the film has won an international award, after taking home the Best Documentary at Taiwan's Golden Horse Film Festival in November last year.

Documentaries from Germany, France, and Belgium were also nominated at the FIPADOC awards, which honor films that inspire social justice, environmentalism, and human rights. The annual festival specializes in non-fiction films, and is now in its 34th year, having first been held in Cannes, France in 1987.

Since its premiere at Cannes Film Festival, every showing of "Revolution of Our Times" has attracted public attention and filled seats at film festivals around the world.

Director #KiwiChow, who resides in Hong Kong, had previously stated that he does not have a copy of the film on hand. The film is scheduled to be screened in Taiwan's theatres on February 25. It will be the first territory where the film is shown in public.

The documentary shows multiple angles of the Anti-ELAB protests from seven different iconic groups in the movement: former reporter turned activist #GwynethHo, who is now held in custody; professor #BennyTai; social workers; the seniors group #ProtectOurChildren; volunteer drivers; first aiders; university students turned frontline protesters; and high school students who left behind their wills before going out to fight.

The film weaves their stories together with now-classic images of the movement, and paints a realistic portrait of Hong Kong's fight for freedom and democracy.

See also: Hong Kong's "Revolution of Our Times" Wins Best Documentary in Taiwan Film Awards; Director: "This Film Belongs to Every Hongkonger Who Cried for Hong Kong
https://publielectoral.lat/guardiansofhongkong/31526

Source: Commons HK; #Jan24

https://bit.ly/3IDxMVA

#RevolutionOfOurTimes #FIPADOC #Film #Award

#ProtestArt #Suppression
Disappearing pro-democracy "Yellow Art". Do you still remember him?

Hidobo is a street artist in Hong Kong, who quietly records historic moments of the Hong Kong #AntiELABmovement with spray. Yet, his visa will soon expire on February 9. Without an extension, he has to leave Hong Kong by then.

#Hidobo will not set up his street stall at Mong Kok anymore. If you happen to see him around the corner of the street, leave him alone. Let him enjoy the remaining few days in Hong Kong.

Had a conversation with Hidobo. He is strong-minded. He has been rejected for visa extension for multiple times. If he decides not to leave, he will be arrested. If he decides to leave, he doesn’t know where to go.

His homeland is politically unstable and facing a war. He does not have a clear idea of his future once he is forced out of Hong Kong.

"I have no idea where I can go next, probably #Ukraine. I am still unsure."

"The HK authorities do not let me stay. They refused to extend my visa. So, I must leave before February 9. I tried to discuss this with staff member of HK authorities with a hope to extend my visa. But I was rejected. I have no other choice but leave before my visa expires."

"I thought about coming back to Hong Kong. But I could be blacklisted. It is likely that I will not be allowed to come back. I do want to return to Hong Kong."

"There are so many uncertainties in life that I don't even know what will happen next."

Follow Hidobo on Instagram : IG@hidobo and support "Yellow Art".

#StreetArtist #UkraineArtist #YellowArt #StandWithHK

https://www.facebook.com/100064176097159/posts/305957124886822/?d=n

#FreedomOfSpeech #PoliceState
#PoliticalOppression
#Free #JimmyLai" – Campaign for world attention on Hong Kong #HumanRights and Press Freedom

On Chinese New Year’s eve (Jan 31), a series of transatlantic illuminations aiming to draw international attention on China's #authoritarian rule over Hong Kong were seen on the walls of Tower Bridge in London and Chinese Embassy in Washington DC.

Bright white lights reading "Free Jimmy Lai and the Apple 7" of three storey tall were projected onto the walls.

In addition, the illuminations also showed the "Olympics rings in thorns", a portrait of Jimmy Lai and a yellow umbrella, the symbol of the 2014 Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong.

The US-based designer, Robin Bell said his intention was to grab people's attention on Human Rights around the world.

Mark L. Clifford, president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong, shared photographs of the illuminations on his Twitter page, calling the upcoming #WinterOlympics in #Beijing " the most shameful Olympics since the 1936 Nazi Olympics in Berlin”.

#ProtestArt #RobinBell #MarkClifford #AppleDaily #FreedomOfSpeech #FreedomOfPublication

Source: RFA; #Jan31
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/uk-jimmy-02012022155410.html

#ProtestArt #Suppression
Pro-democracy street artist expelled in Hong Kong

Hong Kong authorities earlier denied a visa extension for a Ukraine-born street artist, Vladimir Grankovsky (aka Vladi or Hidobo), and ordered him to leave Hong Kong by the end of January 2022.

Read more about Hidobo
https://publielectoral.lat/BeWaterHK/63

On February 7, 2022, it was reported that Vladi’s Instagram account has gone disappeared. Until late evening on the same day, Vladi wrote again on his IG page, saying that he was arrested the night before and was escorted to a plane and deported by immigration officers.

Vladi’s arrest was suspected to be related to his artwork selling at iSquare in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong.

Vladi wrote on his IG page that he will release details about his arrest later. He also apologized to his supporters for the artwork delivery delays.

Follow Hidobo on Instagram: IG@hidobo and support "Yellow Art".

#StreetArtist #UkraineArtist #YellowArt #StandWithHK #Hidobo

Source: Luminance HK; #Feb7
https://publielectoral.lat/luminanthk/5280