Putting Optimism to the Test

As he unveiled the trailer for his new film “Deadline” (自殺通告), scheduled to debut in Taiwan on November 7, Hong Kong filmmaker Kiwi Chow (周冠威) told the independent Hong Kong outlet Inmedia HK that he felt uncertain the film would receive local approval for screening in his hometown. Chow said he had received only “processing” updates since submitting the student suicide drama to Hong Kong’s Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration last month. Starring Anthony Wong Chau-sang (黃秋生) and shot entirely in Taiwan, the film marks the director’s first Taiwan production following his locally unreleased documentary “Revolution of Our Times” (時代革命), which included footage of frontline protests in Hong Kong and infuriated Chinese authorities — particularly when it won best documentary at Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards. “Am I optimistic? Haha, it’s hard to say,” Chow told Inmedia HK. “I choose to be optimistic.”