“Hong Kong is on the frontlines of a global battle for freedom.” TIME Magazine

Over the past fifty years, Hongkongers have fought for freedom and democracy but have yet to succeed. In 2019, the “Extradition Bill” which would have allowed the extradition of Hongkongers to China, opened Pandora’s box, turning Hong Kong into a battlefield against Chinese authoritarian rule. The award-winning director of “Ten Years: Self Immolator,” Kiwi Chow, made this documentary to tell the story of the movement, both with a macro view of its historical context and up close and personal perspective on the front lines.

The 2019 movement is always labelled with the characteristics of “a decentralised leadership”, “be water” (flexible tactics), “do not split” (unity but in different ways) and “blossoming everywhere” (protests all over the territory). The film covers seven teams of protestors with diverse stories and backgrounds that are put together as a comprehensive picture of the versatile movement: A group of netizens formed a sentinel station which spread first-hand information from the frontlines and coordinated “parent-cars” to help protestors escape;

An online journalist, who did the live broadcasting of the “Storming the Legislature” and the “Yuen Long Attack”, became an iconic figure and ultimately played a significant role in pushing the movement forward; A 73-year-old farmer gathered with other elderlies and formed the “Protect the Children” group. He persisted in shielding young protesters with his own body, even after being knocked to the ground, and pepper-sprayed in the eyes by riot police; A high school volunteer first-aider witnessed a subway terror attack by the police and was barred from entering the station to save the wounded. The nightmare made the once peacefully minded first-aider more prepared to accept violent means to fight against authoritarianism; A team of university students used relatively violent means such as Molotov cocktails and flare guns, to protect their campus, fearlessly countering over 2,000 rounds of teargas from the police; A teenage valiant protestor was trapped in the “Poly-U Siege” with his schoolmates. He tried to escape through the sewers but failed. In desperation, he left his last words in a voice message; A grown-up frontline protestor became a father figure to a small squad of twenty young protesters. This group of strangers turned into a big family which eventually fled to Taiwan.

Democracy and freedom are now facing an unprecedented crisis all over the world. The film “Revolution of Our Times” is not only about the battle of Hongkongers but is about a war between all freedom lovers and dictatorships of our globe.