‘Ten Years’: grim future vision of Hong Kong wins top film prize

Ten Years, a dark dystopian low-budget film which depicts a grim future for Hong Kong under Beijing rule and is banned in mainland China, has won the top prize at the Hong Kong Film Awards.

Ten Years is set in 2025 and is made up of five short films which examine Hong Kong's fears of its relationship with mainland China. The former Crown colony reverted to Chinese rule in 1997.

Among the controversial scenes are a self-immolation in front of Hong Kong’s British Consulate and an assassination attempt in a city election. Political gangs, reminiscent of the Red Guards of the period of political upheaval in China known as the Cultural Revolution, roam the streets, and local people are persecuted for speaking Cantonese instead of Mandarin.

Accepting the award, the executive producer of Ten Years, Andrew Choi, said: "Ten Years has already gone beyond being just a film . . . this award shows that Hong Kong actually has hope. This award tells us that we need to keep working hard. Thanks to all the Hong Kong viewers. This award belongs to you all."

Asked for his opinion on the mainland Chinese ban on Ten Years, Mr Choi said: "Our film is for Hong Kongers. There are places where the film is welcome and places where it's not."

The Global Times newspaper, part of the group that publishes the Communist Party's official organ, the People's Daily, condemned the film, branding it as "thought virus."

Peter Lam, head of film company Media Asia, described giving the award to Ten Years as “unfortunate for the Hong Kong film sector”.

“It was unfair to filmmakers. Politics has kidnapped the profession and politicised film awards,” he said.

China was angry at the film’s nomination and many mainland media have effectively boycotted the Hong Kong film awards because of the movie.

The Hong Kong film industry is heavily dependent on mainland China, and most of its stars, directors and producers work on the mainland.

The film, which was made for just HK$600,000 (€67,900), did better box office than Star Wars: The Force Awakens, locally, when it opened in December, but it did not receive wide distribution. It was recently screened to huge crowds at churches and community buildings around the territory.