Johnnie To opens up about suppression of creative freedom

5 Nov - Johnnie To recently admitted that censorship has been one of the reasons why he has reduced his creative outputs in recent years.

In an interview released by BBC on 2 November, the Hong Kong filmmaker, whose last fully directed film was "Chasing Dream" in 2019, stated that he has been in the lowest point of his life when it comes to filmmaking, saying that he has lost his soul, "just like Hong Kong."

Confessing that he has conceived and discarded lots of ideas in recent years, Johnnie stated that this stems from how filmmakers' creative freedom are being suffocated.

"Freedom of speech, simply speaking, it is one of human rights. I feel that it is different from my original life. There has been a big difference in Hong Kong over the past few decades," he said, referring to the current HKSAR government.

However, despite the constraints, Johnnie doesn't see himself working overseas. Instead, he wants to stick to filming in Hong Kong.

"How can I go elsewhere when I can't even fully grasp my own culture?" he added.

Johnnie also said that the third instalment of his hit title, "Election" has already been conceived as early as 2010, but that it was ultimately shelved for various reasons, including the current social climate.

However, he does not rule out the possibility of completing the film in the future.

(Photo Source: IMDb)