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‘With the police brutality over the five months, it’s evolved from a political problem into, actually, an ethical one.’
– Pro-democracy protestor, November 2019, Hong Kong
Since being transferred from British to Chinese control in 1997, Hong Kong has operated under a ‘one country, two systems’ framework, which allowed its government relative independence from the Chinese Communist Party, and its people more rights than those living on mainland China. But in February 2019, a proposed bill that would allow extradition to mainland China was viewed by many Hongkongers as a harbinger of human rights violations and political dissent crackdowns to come, sparking a massive pro-democracy protest movement in the region. And although Hong Kong’s government formally withdrew the bill in October 2019, police brutality and worries over continued threats to the political freedoms kept the movement afloat.
Compiled by the Norwegian journalist and filmmaker Anders Hammer between October 2019 and July 2020, Do Not Split is composed of incredible on-the-ground and from-the-air footage of the protests. This dramatic documentary reveals much about the situation in Hong Kong, including the pro-democracy movement’s struggle to survive COVID-19 and a sweeping new national security law imposed by Beijing in June 2020. But beyond the scope of the South China Sea, it’s a telling glimpse into the nature of modern mass protest movements, in which clashes between protestors, counter-protesters and police are on the verge of combusting, and with each scene captured by swarms of cameraphones.
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Nature and landscape
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Love and friendship
Never marry a man you love too much, and other views on romance in Sierra Leone
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Engineering
Can monumental ‘ice stupas’ help remote Himalayan villages survive?
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History of technology
Curious singles and tech sceptics – what ‘computer dating’ looked like in 1966
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Animals and humans
Join seabirds as they migrate, encountering human communities along the way
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Stories and literature
Two variants of a Hindu myth come alive in an animated ode to Indian storytelling
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Technology and the self
The commodified childhood – scenes from two sisters’ lives in the creator economy
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Fairness and equality
There’s a dirty side to clean energy in the metal-rich mountains of South Africa
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Food and drink
The passage of time is a peculiar thing in a 24-hour diner
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