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 Adapted from Jiu Yuexi's novel
"Young and Beautiful", the movie tells the story
of a bullied schoolgirl who develops a strong
bond with a boy when they get caught up in a
murder case. The romantic crime film, shot in
mainland China and the first by a Hong Kong-born
director to receive an Oscar nomination, is
shortlisted in the best international feature
film category.
Hong Kong TV audiences won't be able to watch a
win in real time, though, because free-to-air
broadcaster TVB won't air the Academy Awards for
the first time in more than 50 years. TVB, which
has broadcast the Oscars every year since 1969,
said it won't carry the ceremony this year for
"commercial reasons".
Tsang believes censors gave his movie the green
light "because everyone thinks the film carries
a very positive message and (bullying is)
something that needs to be discussed," he told
Reuters in an interview.
Artistic freedoms have narrowed in recent years
in China, where authorities can be uncomfortable
with topics that portray aspects of society as
less than harmonious.
While there was no "clear path" on how to pass
censorship requirements, it was important for
filmmakers and other artists to pursue subjects
they believed in, Tsang said.
"Passion will carry you a very long distance,"
he said.
"One of the most encouraging comments that I've
heard from fellow filmmakers is ... (that) our
film inspired them ... that we try to tackle
something that's difficult instead of choosing
an easier path."
"Better Days", released in October 2019 in China
and a month later in the United States and other
countries, has so far grossed over $200 million
at the box office worldwide.
NOT IN HONG KONG
The decision not to air the Oscars has stoked
concerns about dwindling freedoms in Hong Kong,
which has taken an authoritarian path since
China imposed a sweeping national security law
last year in response to the financial hub's
pro-democracy protests of 2019.
Tsang said he was "disappointed" the Oscars
would not be broadcast in Hong Kong, but
"guessed" the decision was made due to
coronavirus-related fears that the show might go
virtual or even be cancelled.
[to top of second column]
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 China won't carry the Oscars
this year either, with nationalists criticising
Chinese-born director Chloe Zhao, whose "Nomadland"
earned several nominations and won best film at
Britain's BAFTA awards. Zhao has insulted China
in comments in the past, posters on Chinese
social media have said.
Another sensitive nomination for China is
Norwegian director Anders Hammer's short
documentary "Do Not Split", about Hong Kong's
2019 protests.
In signs of a tougher environment this year for
film and other work, Hong Kong cinemas pulled
protest documentary "Inside the Red Brick Wall"
by anonymous local filmmakers, a university
cancelled a press photography exhibition, and a
soon-to-open contemporary art museum said it
will allow the police's new national security
unit to vet its collections.
Hong Kong authorities say the former British
colony's rights and freedoms are intact and it
retains a high degree of autonomy from Beijing,
but that China's national security is a red
line.
The government did not immediately respond to a
request for comment on the Oscars and the
concerns about artistic freedoms.
Asked about the impact of what many say is a
rapidly shrinking space for dissent on Hong
Kong's once-vaunted film industry, Tsang said
artists still have plenty of stories to tell and
he was optimistic about the industry's future.
One of his next projects will focus on the
plight of refugees from across South Asia in
Hong Kong, who face discrimination, housing
problems and bureaucratic hurdles preventing
many from pulling themselves out of poverty.
"As long as there are people in Hong Kong, there
are going to be good stories," Tsang said.
"I don't believe one bit that Hong Kong cinema
is dead."
(Reporting by Joyce Zhou; Additional reporting
by Hong Kong newsroom; Writing by Marius Zaharia;
Editing by Tom Hogue)
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