Hot Docs 2023 – Who’s Afraid of Nathan Law?, Razing Liberty Square, and Unseen

May 17, 2023- Permalink

Today I want to look at three of the films I screened during the 2023 Hot Docs Film Festival.

Who’s Afraid of Nathan Law?

Joe Piscatella’s Who’s Afraid of Nathan Law? is a follow-up to his 2017 documentary Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower. This time we meet Nathan Law, a college student in Hong Kong, who teamed up with fellow pro-democracy activists Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow as they lead 2014’s Umbrella Revolution. The students shut down the busiest parts of Hong Kong to try and get China to keep it’s “one country, two systems” promise.

Law then became the youngest person elected to the Hong Kong Legislative Council, only to be kicked out on trumped up allegations. When the students once again take to the streets to protest the proposed extradition law that will allow prisoners to be sent to the mainland, the Chinese retaliation is swift and though their belief in democracy gives them the strength to survive police battles and brutal beatings by criminals hired as agitators, the huge weight of the authoritarian regime rips through the group with onerous prison sentences.

Besides the on-the-street footage of the confrontations with police, Piscatella’s camera gives us access to the group’s planning meetings and takes us inside Law’s election campaign and time as a council member. He also gives us access to Law, who was able to flee Hong Kong but now lives with one eye over his shoulder as he knows the Chinese intelligence apparatus is far-reaching.

Who’s Afraid of Nathan Law? is at times depressing, as it feels like a well-oiled, well-funded authoritarian regime knows no bounds, but at the same, the continued belief in democracy by the students in inspiring and a lesson to those citizens in the West who see the seeds of authoritarianism trying to take root in their own countries. If you can find this doc at your own local documentary cinema or keep an eye out for it on your local public television station or streaming service, I’d highly recommend it.

Razing Liberty Square

Razing Liberty Square, from director Katja Esson, looks at the history and current predicament of Liberty Square, a public housing development in the predominantly Black neighbourhood of Liberty City in Miami that is facing a private redevelopment by a company saying that it’s mixed-income buildings will improve the lives of the residents.

In the Jim Crow days, Miami essentially used zoning to force Blacks away from the sought after waterfront areas and forced the families inland. Despite the terrible reasons behind the community, the area had a great spirit, with the residents believing they could count on each other.

The current development promises new and improved public housing, but there’s an issue when vouchers are offered so that residents can choose to wait in their dilapidated units for new ones or take assistance to find a new apartment but with no guarantee the rent won’t skyrocket. Razing Liberty Square shows us the struggles and the decisions to be made by many who grew up in the area, from a school principal fighting for her students to an executive with the company doing the redevelopment who fights both with the perception of his role in the company and the realization of what’s actually happening within the company.

Against the backdrop of politicians doing photo ops with the developers that fund their campaigns, Razing Liberty Square, like Who’s Afraid of Nathan Law?, shows that the fight for one’s rights and just treatment has to start at the personal level. Razing Liberty Square is definitely a film to seek out.

Unseen

Director Set Hernandez brought Unseen to Hot Docs. Hernandez, a co-founder of the Undocumented Filmmakers Collective, tells the story of their friend, Pedro, a blind undocumented immigrant who is studying to be a social worker. Pedro’s goals of supporting his family and providing mental health help to his community faces both practical and political challenges. It’s inspiring to see that Pedro’s spirit may occasionally bend but never breaks and this is in no small part due to his own personal strength and the love and support of his family, community and educators.

Hernandez takes us into Pedro’s world by filming some scenes in a way that shows the blurred shapes and flashes of light and colour that Pedro faces as he navigates through his world. With Unseen, Hernandez shows us the power of determination and love. Well worth seeking out.