Join us for a special, free public screening of Umbrella Diaries: The First Umbrella. This new documentary charts the birth of the 2014 Occupy protests through the experiences of activists and ordinary Hongkongers.
The evening includes a Q&A with director James Leong and a political panel with representatives from Amnesty International, the Hong Kong Journalists Association and Reporters Without Borders about freedom of speech and the press in Hong Kong since 2014.
Umbrella Diaries: The First Umbrella charts the origins of Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement through the eyes of the activists and ordinary people who made it happen. From the June 4th Candlelit Vigil until September 28th, when tens of thousands of protestors occupied the streets outside Government Headquarters, this documentary puts us at the heart of the action, allowing viewers to experience the highs and lows of that remarkable summer, when Hong Kong witnessed a “blossoming of democracy”
- Date: Mon Nov. 5th, 7:30pm.
- Venue: The Hive Spring, 3/F Remex Centre, 42 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Aberdeen, Hong Kong Island. Directions.
- Entry: Free. 150 seats only. Register. [SOLD OUT]
James Leong, Director:
James Leong’s documentaries have screened at festivals such as Hotdocs, IDFA and Yamagata. Passabe (2004), about truth and reconciliation in East Timor, received a grant from the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund. Homeless FC (2006) won the top prize at the Chinese Documentary Festival in Hong Kong. Wukan (2015) was awarded best feature at the Freedom Film Festival and the Chinese Documentary Festival, and received a special mention at the Dubai International Film Festival. Umbrella Diaries: The First Umbrella has been nominated for best documentary at the Golden Horse Awards.
Patrick Poon, Amnesty International:
Patrick Poon has been a China researcher of Amnesty International since late 2013. Before joining Amnesty, he worked as a journalist for about five years and has been working on China’s human rights issues, including labour rights, lawyers’ rights and freedom of expression, since 2004.
Shirley Yam, Hong Kong Journalists Association:
Shirley Yam is an award-winning financial journalist, having worked on China’s financial and corporate development since the 90s. She has served the Hong Kong Journalists Association for a decade and is currently its vice-chair. Yam has won various scholarships for education in Hong Kong and abroad. She holds a Master Degree in Politics of the World Economy from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Cédric Alviani, Reporters Without Borders:
Cedric Alviani, a French national and graduate from the CUEJ journalism centre in Strasbourg, has lived in Asia since 1999. Cedric, based in Taipei, currently serves as East-Asia Bureau Director for the press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (also known under the French name Reporters sans Fontières and its acronym RSF), a Paris-based international non-governmental organisation whose mandate is to promote and defend freedom of information.
Free Expression Week is a series of events examining the state of civil liberties in Hong Kong – coordinated by Hong Kong Free Press, Reporters Without Borders & Amnesty International.
