Event Summary
On 12 December 2025, Hong Kong’s Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration refused approval for director Kiwi Chow Kwun-wai’s latest film “Deadline” to be released, citing national security concerns. The decision came after over four months of review since its 4 August 2025 submission. Chow stated he would not appeal as it would be “futile,” calling the decision “absurd” given no explanation was provided for how the film contravenes national security. “Deadline” stars veteran actor Anthony Wong and tells the story of elite private school students facing suicide threats under intense academic pressure—an allegory for hyper-competition under capitalism. The film was shot entirely in Taiwan after Chow could not secure a single Hong Kong school as filming location. “Deadline” was released in Taiwan November 7 but remains banned from Hong Kong screening. Chow believes authorities are personally targeting him: “They don’t want to arrest me, but they want to destroy my creative career.” He attributes the ban not to content but to informal blacklisting after years flouting Beijing’s taboos. Chow’s previous works include “Ten Years” (2015), dystopian anthology imagining Hong Kong under increasing CCP influence, and “Revolution of Our Times” (2021), award-winning documentary about 2019 pro-democracy protests which he never attempted screening in Hong Kong.
Between 2021 and July 2025, censors banned 13 films citing national security while requiring 50 films required modification; although Hong Kong banned zero films 2016-2020 they had banned 10 in 2023 alone. Chow remains in Hong Kong despite difficulties securing investors, collaborators, and filming locations, stating “I want to stay in Hong Kong and get used to living with fear” rather than flee given Beijing’s transnational repression practices. He noted academic pressure worsened under national security regime now incorporated into curriculum, with teachers unable to discuss distorted history and truth.