Hong Kong protest documentary named best picture in 2020 Film Critics Society awards

Inside the Red Brick Wall, which commercial cinemas have shunned, depicts the 13-day stand-off between police and protesters at Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Among the other winners were director Peter Chan and lead actress Gong Li for Leap, the story of China’s women’s volleyball team and its legendary coach

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A still from Inside the Red Brick Wall, best picture winner in the 2020 Hong Kong Film Critics Society awards.

Published: 7:27pm, 18 Jan 2021Updated: 7:27pm, 18 Jan 2021

Inside the Red Brick Wall, a feature-length documentary chronicling a 13-day stand-off between anti-government protesters and police at Hong Kong Polytechnic University in November 2019, has been voted the best Hong Kong film of 2020 by a panel of critics, the Hong Kong Film Critics Society announced on Monday.

The film, which has been shunned by commercial cinemas in Hong Kong, also won the best editing prize at the prestigious 2020 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam.

Inside the Red Brick Wall has been shrouded in controversy ever since it came to public attention, and its directors remain anonymous.

Just before a screening in the city in September, the film’s distributors were made by government censors to add a cryptic warning before the film against their will. It is rated Category III (meaning for adults only) for its “depiction of crime, strong language and violence” – all common components of Hong Kong movies that have received far less prohibitive ratings.

The best director honour went to Peter Chan Ho-sun for Leap , a fact-based drama about the accomplishments of China’s women’s volleyball team over recent decades. The film’s star, Gong Li, was named best actress for her leading role in the film, as the legendary coach Lang Ping.