Indiegogo is committed to accessibility. If you have difficulty using our site, please contact support@indiegogo.com for assistance or view our accessibility notice by clicking here

This campaign is closed

Free Radicals

The real-life fight for democracy in Hong Kong and China

You may also be interested in

Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed

Free Radicals

Free Radicals

Free Radicals

Free Radicals

Free Radicals

The real-life fight for democracy in Hong Kong and China

The real-life fight for democracy in Hong Kong and China

The real-life fight for democracy in Hong Kong and China

The real-life fight for democracy in Hong Kong and China

matthew
matthew
matthew
matthew
1 Campaign |
Hong Kong and London, UK, Hong Kong
$1,090 USD 9 backers
7% of $15,000 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal
Choose your Perk

Best Boy

$5 USD
1 out of 2000 of claimed

Gaffer

$10 USD
2 out of 1000 of claimed

Key Grip

$25 USD
0 out of 500 of claimed

Film loader

$50 USD
1 out of 250 of claimed

Focus Puller

$100 USD
3 out of 100 of claimed

Second Assistant Director

$250 USD
0 out of 50 of claimed

Line Producer

$500 USD
1 out of 25 of claimed

Associate Producer

$1,000 USD
0 out of 12 of claimed

Executive Producer

$2,500 USD
0 out of 6 of claimed

Our Story

Through their frustrations and setbacks, Free Radicals will expose the invisible walls closing in on Hong Kong's democracy movement. These walls are constructed on a foundation of the unholy alliance between the Chinese Communist Party and Hong Kong's business elite, who pretend to support democratic progress while entrenching an electoral system that is rigged from the start.

FREE RADICALS is the story of Joshua (黃之鋒) and Ma Jai (馬雲祺), two boys who dream of a fairer society, but hold very different views on how to realise their dreams. To turn around a losing battle for democracy against the world's most powerful authoritarian regime, is it time for peaceful protest or violent struggle?

Joshua, a likeable 15-year-old schoolboy motivated by religious conviction, has made a name for himself mobilising street protests and agitating for democratic reform online. He is, for now, committed to working within the system for change – but quietly harbours admiration for those participating in civil disobedience.

Ma Jai, a 18-yr-old high school drop-out, has channelled his youth disaffection into a passion for social change. He spends his time protesting on the streets, fighting for the poor and demanding justice for the victims of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. With 3 arrests and counting, Ma Jai has given up on working within the system to affect change. Committed to revolution, yet frustrated at his lack of progress, he contemplates escalating his civil disobedience to violent protest.

In 2012, Hong Kong elects a legislature with a mandate to introduce universal suffrage by 2017. Currently the system is rigged so that the 55%-60% of the popular vote for pro-democracy parties translates to just 38% of the seats. If pro-Chinese Communist Party forces win over 66% of seats, they will get free rein to rig the system so that pro-democracy legislators can no longer block the authoritarian laws being pushed by the Chinese Communist Party and no pro-democracy candidate will ever stand a chance of leading Hong Kong.

Will Joshua and Ma Jai, and the energetic post-90s generation of democracy activists they represent, be able to resuscitate the flagging democracy movement in time for the all-important 2012 Legislative Council elections? Or will China's beacon of hope for a democratic future be extinguished, leaving the world to face a rising authoritarian superpower?

Free Radicals is scheduled to be released in the spring of 2013.

The Impact

Hong Kong's political situation is easily ignored. Citizen activists in the Middle East and North Africa have taken bold strides towards democracy in the last year and the world's eyes are on them, willing them to succeed. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's democracy activists are being quietly driven backwards by the overwhelming political might of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and the world's eyes are averted. Perhaps no-one wants to offend Beijing; perhaps the gradual removal of freedoms from 7 million people is simply not that newsworthy. We disagree. What happens in Hong Kong's political scene will affect China's future, for better or for worse. What happens in China's political scene will affect us all.

It is of acute importance that the world understands the true nature of the world's upcoming superpower. With the well-resourced CCP propaganda machine becoming ever more adept at controlling information within and beyond its borders, it falls to independent journalists and film-makers to showcase alternative voices from China's political scene. The two boys featured in Free Radicals offer an insight into a new generation of Chinese citizens, and a glimpse of an alternative future for Hong Kong and China.


What we will do once the film is completed…

We intend to enter “Free Radicals” in a range of international documentary film festivals such as IDFA in the Netherlands, Sundance, Hot docs etc. We expect the film will be shown on national television in the USA and the UK and on a cable channel in Hong Kong. We hope to have a limited cinema release in big cities in the USA, UK, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The film will be released on DVD and on popular online download to own and streaming video websites.

What We Need & What You Get

Currently we are raising funds to complete shooting the film and post-production (editing, sound, etc.) and pay for the copyright licensing of TV, radio and music clips. We are actively raising money through applying for film grants. So far we have shot serval hours of footage and produced the trailer. We are currently financing the shoot from our own pockets.

HK$60,000 (USD$7800) will cover the cost of camera and related equipment hire for the entire film. The cameraman, a professional cameraman who has filmed many documentaries in China, is giving his time for free. The remaining HK$56,000 (USD$7200) will be spent on hard drives to store the digital footage we capture; licensing the archive footage we need to tell the story from providers such as the BBC, TVB, RTHK and CNN; pay for the video editing and sound editing.


Can we exceed the goal? Yes! Exceeding the goal would be ideal as it would help ease the cost of making and producing the film.

Is my contribution amount publicly displayed?
No. Only you and the project owner will be able to see your contribution amount.

I'm not in the US, can I still contribute?Yes, you can contribute from anywhere in the world. We are based in Hong Kong and London.

How can I contact you?
You can send us an email through the Indiegogo website OR you can contact the team directly by emailing us at info@hkdemocracy.com

Other Ways You Can Help

Any way you can get the word out would be greatly appreciated. Please like us on Facebook, Tweet about the film or send a link to the trailer to family, friends and anyone who you think might be interested.


Where can I learn more about the project?


Please visit our official website. Where you can find a full synopsis of the story, filmmaker bios and read updates and more.

Please contact us at info@hkdemocracy.com, www.hkdemocracy.com and www.facebook.com/hkdemocracy

For a Chinese language version of this campaign please visit our website.

Please note travel costs are not covered in the perks, you will have to make your own way to London or Hong Kong to claim these perks.

Looking for more information? Check the project FAQ
Need more information
Let us know if you think this campaign contains prohibited content.
Tags for this project

You may also be interested in

Up Caret