Hong Kong protests: documentary covering Polytechnic University clashes pulled from cinema following warnings of possible national security law breaches

Pro-Beijing newspapers have accused ‘Inside the Red Brick Wall’ of glorifying radical protesters and stoking up hatred against police and the government

Cinema and screening organisers withdraw the film to ‘avoid unnecessary misunderstanding’

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Tear gas was used during the 2019 clashes between police and protesters at Polytechnic University. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:07am, 16 Mar 2021Updated: 6:19pm, 16 Mar 2021

A controversial documentary portraying the fierce clashes at a university in Hong Kong during the 2019 anti-government protests was pulled on Monday, hours before its scheduled cinema screening, following warnings it could be in breach of the national security law.

Inside the Red Brick Wall was withdrawn in the wake of pro-Beijing newspapers accusing the film of glorifying radical protesters and inciting hatred against Hong Kong police and the government, possibly in breach of the legislation imposed on the city last summer.

The film was supposed to be shown on Monday evening in the newly opened Golden Scene cinema in Kennedy Town, as part of a series of screenings for the winners of the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards.

The feature-length documentary covers the stand-off in November 2019 between protesters and police at Polytechnic University (PolyU), the scene of some of the worst violence during that year’s demonstrations. The documentary was named after the signature red brick walls of the Hung Hom campus.

Both the cinema and the society announced on their respective Facebook pages on Monday afternoon the cancellation of the screenings scheduled for that evening and the coming Sunday.

The society said the showings recently received “excessive attention” and “to avoid unnecessary misunderstanding” it had decided to pull the events. It expressed “deep regret” and hoped audiences would understand the move.

The film’s distributor, Ying E Chi Cinema, said in a Facebook post: “Despite the difficult reality, Hong Kong film workers will continue to commit to our duties and make films that are recognised by the world for Hong Kong people.”

The 88-minute movie, produced in 2020 by a group of anonymous Hong Kong documentary makers, won the best editing award at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), the largest event of its kind in Europe. The documentary also won the annual grand prize from the Hong Kong Film Critics Society.

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