This Saturday, a new film about atrocious human rights abuse in China will be screened at a Richmond cinema, followed by a panel discussion with the movie director.
Unsilenced follows Wang - a university student in Beijing - and his friends as their carefree days are shattered by the 1999 order that banned the spiritual practice Falun Gong in China.
Later, the group join forces with an American journalist to fight against state censorship and oppression.
“The story is all about when facing tyranny and censorship, do you have the courage to speak up,” said Leon Lee, the director behind the movie, noting that the 108-minute film is based on real-world events.
“I feel people need to know the real situation in China in terms of human rights. We know the Beijing Olympics was going on, and it’s easy to get caught up with the grand celebration and forget about the human rights issues.”
Lee added that it’s important to bring up discussions about distinguishing the differences between truth and propaganda and reflect on “the courage nowadays to speak out the truth if needed.”
His inspiration came in 2018, when he met Wang in Detroit after being imprisoned in China for over eight years.
According to Lee, Wang was once an idealistic Ph.D. student at Tsinghua University (one of the top universities in China) and he was determined to be a top leader in his homeland.
However, as a Falun Gong practitioner, Wang later faced a tough decision in life - either give up the practice or stand up to the regime.
“He chose the latter. Then he was expelled from the university and his life was turned upside down,” explained Lee.
Profoundly touched by Wang’s journey, Lee decided to transform his story into a movie.
Despite the movie being filmed outside of China, Lee said actors and film crews still faced “enormous pressure and challenges,” but managed to overcome all obstacles.
After four years, Wang’s story was finally shared with the world through the release of Unsilenced.
However, Lee said they wouldn’t allow Wang, who suffers from PTSD after being put in China’s jail for over eight years, to watch the film again, since it could bring back so many traumatic memories for him.
