Documentary
West Estate spotlights the severe housing problems in Hong Kong, taking the spirit of resistance outside of the protest. The damaged walls in the cage-like tenements reflect the many forms of social injustice as well as Hongkongers’ widespread sense of rootlessness. Connecting three stories from different households like puzzle pieces, the film depicts people’s despair over issues of family, sexuality, love, and freedom.
MOVIE COMMENTS
SIMILAR MOVIES
Chicago at the Crossroad
Prayers to the Gods of Guerrilla Filmmaking
Open Road After Harvest
Road Not Taken
Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower
Pseudo Secular
Anti-XRL Campaign - Media Perspective
Sunday Beauty Queen
Franco Mella
Trip to Asia: The Quest for Harmony
Rather Be Ashes Than Dust
Follow Me
Hong Kong: Retrocession Generation
Freedom for the Wolf
Be Water
The Changing Face Of Salford Collection
Memories to Choke On, Drinks to Wash Them Down
Do Not Split
Bruce Lee: Tracking the Dragon
Made in Hong Kong
SIMILAR MOVIES
Chicago at the Crossroad
IMDB 4 | Jun , 2019
While gun violence was on the decline in most major US cities, why did it continue to increase in Chicago's segregated communities? What is known about the systems that created the problem, the laws that isolated it, and the policies that abandoned it? Using dramatic footage, including interviews with residents on the front lines over the last 15 years, this documentary opens a rare historical window into the systematic creation of poverty stricken communities plagued by gun violence.Prayers to the Gods of Guerrilla Filmmaking
IMDB 0 | Jun , 2019
A crew of filmmakers shoot undercover on the streets of Hong Kong with hidden microphones and no permits. The city becomes a giant set as mounting tension and ego clashes push tempers to breaking point.Open Road After Harvest
IMDB 0 | Jan , 2015
In such a difficult situation in Hong Kong agriculture, to local farmers, before expecting a good harvest, they have to first overcome the problems caused by agricultural policy implementation, land policy and urban development in Hong Kong. This film is about three middle-aged local organic farmers and their farming stories: A peasant leader, who faces political infiltration in organization, decides to quit and focuses on his farming; a rural woman who fights against North East New Territories development plan and taking care of her sick husband at the same time, decides to combine family life with her home farming; a sixty years old truck driver who decides to have a career change, trying to live a fearless and free life as a farmer.Road Not Taken
IMDB 0 | Dec , 2016
After the failed Umbrella Revolution in 2014, lives go back to normal, but the scenes of the great protest are like yesterday for Billy and Popsy, students in the University of Hong Kong who took part in the movement. One of them now becomes a student leader, while the other chooses a low-profile life as a private tutor. Amid the rapid social changes, when the Communist Beijing government is extending their influence to Hong Kong to take away the freedom and democracy, how would the youths see their future? Do they still see hopes, when both peaceful protests and radical actions seem to be futile?Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower
IMDB 7.3 | Jan , 2017
When the Chinese Communist Party backtracks on its promise of autonomy to Hong Kong, teenager Joshua Wong decides to save his city. Rallying thousands of kids to skip school and occupy the streets, Joshua becomes an unlikely leader in Hong Kong and one of China’s most notorious dissidents.Pseudo Secular
IMDB 6.8 | Nov , 2016
They are frozen in place, stagnating without any direction. Around them, things change rapidly.Anti-XRL Campaign - Media Perspective
IMDB 6 | Nov , 2010
In late 2009, over twenty Hong Kong civic groups united as the "Anti-High-Speed Rail, Stop Funding" coalition, aiming to halt Legislative Council approval of the HKD 66.9 billion Express Rail Link amid deep social rifts. The "Post-80s Anti-High-Speed Rail Youth" group drew thousands of young people with their slogan “Defend Our Homeland, Protest with Joy,” leading to three funding suspensions that surprised the public. Media coverage was intense and innovative, featuring rare camera angles and lively online debate among journalists. This documentary explores how reporters shaped the movement, their emotional involvement, and the dynamic relationship between the media and activists during Hong Kong’s pivotal 2009–10 protests.Sunday Beauty Queen
IMDB 8.7 | Dec , 2016
Beneath Hong Kong's glittering facade, Filipina domestic helpers work in relative anonymity and for near-slave wages. In a beauty pageant like no other, five helpers give themselves makeovers for a day and gleefully reclaim their dignity.Franco Mella
IMDB 0 | Jun , 2018
Franco Mella is a devoted figure whose life bridges Catholicism and Communism. He has journeyed through Asia, lived simply, and fought for social justice, notably within Hong Kong's protest history as depicted in "Ordinary Heroes" (1999). Mella's path weaves through religious and revolutionary movements, from church beginnings to Communist activism and the Handover, always driven by his missionary spirit and communist ideals. For four decades, he has steadfastly championed the oppressed, undeterred by shifting politics, expressing solidarity through music and protest, and remaining a symbol of wisdom and resilience for the people of Hong Kong.Trip to Asia: The Quest for Harmony
IMDB 8.5 | Feb , 2008
Journey with the musicians of the Berlin Philharmonic and their conductor Sir Simon Rattle on a breakneck concert tour of six metropolises across Asia: Beijing, Seoul, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei and Tokyo. Their artistic triumph onstage belies a dynamic and dramatic life backstage. The orchestra is a closed society that observes its own laws and traditions, and in the words of one of its musicians is, “an island, a democratic microcosm – almost without precedent in the music world - whose social structure and cohesion is not only founded on a common love for music but also informed by competition, compulsion and the pressure to perform to a high pitch of excellence... .” Never before has the Berlin Philharmonic allowed such intimate and exclusive access into its private world.Rather Be Ashes Than Dust
IMDB 7 | Oct , 2024
Memories of his four-year journey focused on the Hong Kong protests. Narrated in the first person, is rich with reflections and contemplations, most intertwined with feelings of guilt.Follow Me
IMDB 4.3 | Apr , 1969
Documentary about two boys and a girl who travel to surfing spots around the world.Hong Kong: Retrocession Generation
IMDB 7.5 | Jul , 2017
In 2017, twenty years after the British handed over Hong Kong to China in 1997, young people, more politicized than any previous generation and proud of their land, do not feel Chinese and actively fight against the oligarchs who want to subdue them to China's authoritarian power.Freedom for the Wolf
IMDB 10 | Jun , 2017
The Real Story of Fake Democracy. Filmed over three years in five countries, FREEDOM FOR THE WOLF is an epic investigation into the new regime of illiberal democracy. From the young students of Hong Kong, to a rapper in post-Arab Spring Tunisia and the viral comedians of Bollywood, we discover how people from every corner of the globe are fighting the same struggle. They are fighting against elected leaders who trample on human rights, minorities, and their political opponents.Be Water
IMDB 6.8 | Jan , 2020
In 1971, after being rejected by Hollywood, Bruce Lee returned to his parents’ homeland of Hong Kong to complete four iconic films. Charting his struggles between two worlds, this portrait explores questions of identity and representation through the use of rare archival footage, interviews with loved ones and Bruce’s own writings.The Changing Face Of Salford Collection
IMDB 0 | Jan , 1970
Between 1968 and 1970, J M Goodger, a lecturer at the University of Salford, made a film record of the living conditions in the slums of Ordsall, Salford, which were then in the process of being demolished. Under the title 'The Changing face of Salford', the film was in two parts: 'Life in the slums' and 'Bloody slums'.Memories to Choke On, Drinks to Wash Them Down
IMDB 7.7 | Nov , 2019
This anthology film, whose Chinese title begins with a romantic name for human excrement, premiered internationally at Rotterdam and won Best Screenplay from the Hong Kong Film Critics Society. A variety of Hong Kong people wrestle with nostalgia when facing an uncertain future. Their stories give way to a documentary featuring a young barista turned political candidate.Do Not Split
IMDB 7.4 | Jan , 2020
The story of the 2019 Hong Kong protests, told through a series of demonstrations by local protestors that escalate into conflict when highly armed police appear on the scene.Bruce Lee: Tracking the Dragon
IMDB 4.8 | Oct , 2016
Bruce Lee expert John Little tracks down the actual locations of some of Bruce Lee's most iconic action scenes. Many of these sites remain largely unchanged nearly half a century later. At monasteries, ice factories, and on urban streets, Little explores the real life settings of Lee's legendary career. This film builds on Little's earlier film, Pursuit of the Dragon, to present a comprehensive view of Lee's work that will change the way you see the films.Made in Hong Kong
IMDB 8.5 | Jun , 1997
Allows glimpses on a Hong Kong shortly before the 1997 handover to China. But rather than focusing on the expected hysteria Luc Schaedler’s documentary debut works towards complexity by allowing six diverse residents to talk about their relationship to the colonial city. Their life stories beautifully mix with the images of the author. Made in Hong Kong is a very personal portrait of a city in transition and we learn about Hong Kong’s ambiguities and its political and social problems, as well as the uncertainties regarding the time after 1997.