Produced by Ai Weiwei, this is a rousing portrait of Liu Ximei, an astonishingly resilient Aids activist; it also sheds light on a controversial government campaign that accelerated the epidemic in 1990s China. During the first half of the decade, poor farmers were encouraged to donate their blood in exchange for money. Due to a lack of health and safety standards, a staggering number of donors as well as those who received transfusions contracted HIV. In Ximei’s province of Henan, more than 300,000 villagers live with the debilitating effects of…
Tag: Documentary films
Hong Kong: City on Fire review – shocking violence in China’s city of dissent
An unflinching chronicle of the pro-democracy protests that sent shock waves through Hong Kong in 2019, Choi Ka Yan and Lee Hiu Ling’s vital, politically urgent documentary witnesses the fight for freedom from the frontline. Dynamically structured around personal testimonials, the film gives voice to the activists who dared to brave the clouds of teargas. Mounted in response to a highly controversial plan from the Hong Kong government that would allow for extradition to mainland China, the demonstrations escalated in scale after police brutality against peaceful protesters. As well as…