Told from within the heart of the Hong Kong protests, Do Not Split begins in 2019 as a proposed bill allowing the Chinese government to extradite criminal suspects to mainland China escalated protests throughout Hong Kong.

Filmed across an entire year, Do Not Split takes us within the heart of the 2019 Hong Kong protests, capturing the determination and sacrifices of the city’s youth as their movement becomes symbolic for a generation’s rebellion against the political systems of two governments.

Armed with umbrellas, gas masks, social media, and sheer determination, the protestors risk their lives, safety, and futures against the police’s tear gas, armed vehicles, and violence.
 
Anders Hammer’s powerful film paints a nuanced and sobering picture of the challenges faced by the protestors, joining them on the ground to give an expansive and first-hand portrait of the unrest that prompted a government’s backlash, the passage of the new Beijing-backed national security law, and captured the attention of the world.

Click on the image above or here to watch the film.

I wanted to capture the intensity of the streets in Hong Kong as the young protesters were risking everything in a fight for their future. My hope was the film would take you into the heart of the protests to show the incredible bravery of the protestors.
 
The uprising in Hong Kong started as demonstrations against a proposed extradition bill, which would have allowed people to be sent to Mainland China for trial. Soon it developed into a broader protest campaign for basic human rights in a challenge to the Chinese Communist Party.
 
I see Beijing's encroachment on Hong Kong's civil liberties as one of the most important events in international politics. Sadly the situation is deteriorating further in 2021 where we see activists and pro-democracy politicians risking many years in prison charged under the new draconian national security law.
 
In Hong Kong I wanted to try to understand how a leaderless protest movement could challenge one of the most powerful countries in the world – China. The idea has been to direct a documentary that makes the viewers feel they are on the ground, seeing what the camera sees from the experience of the people, as closely as possible. By recreating the intense atmosphere, I hope people will become engaged and care about how democracy is dying in Hong Kong. Hopefully that can contribute to put pressure on governments to stop turning a blind eye to how China is suppressing basic human rights.

In Hong Kong I wanted to try to understand how a leaderless protest movement could challenge one of the most powerful countries in the world – China.

Anders Hammer has filmed and directed the documentary Do Not Split which takes us within the heart of the Hong Kong protests that started in the summer of 2019. The movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2020 and received the Special Jury Prize at AFI DOCS and Special Jury Recognition for Courage under Fire at DOC NYC.
 
Hammer directed the documentary series Our Allies for Field of Vision. He also directed and produced Escape from Syria: Rania’s Odyssey, which was published by The Guardian and won a Webby Award and a One World Media Award for Best Refugee Reporting in 2018. The documentary went viral and gained more than 10 million views and 100,000 shares in social media. Hammer is one of the directors of the documentary Exit Afghanistan published by Netflix. He has directed seven documentaries for the Norwegian investigative journalism program NRK Brennpunkt and many short documentaries. Hammer lived and worked in Afghanistan for six years and has written four documentary books about the country, one of them together with the Danish author Carsten Jensen. In Norway, where Hammer was born in 1977, he has received the Fritt Ord Award (which is given in support of freedom of expression), the International Reporter's Journalism Award and the Big Journalist Award.

Joey Siu is a Hongkongese-American student activist, associate of Hong Kong Watch and advisor to the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC). She participated actively in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement by organizing local grassroot campaigns and also international advocacy for Hong Kong. Her focus is on human rights in Hong Kong, East Turkestan, Tibet and other regions in China. She also writes on U.S. - China relations and Hong Kong politics. She has testified before the U.S. Congress twice, spoken in the U.K. Parliament and United Nations in Geneva, and given briefings at the European Union Delegation office at the U.N.

Anders Hammer’s powerful film paints a nuanced and sobering picture of the challenges faced by the protestors, joining student leaders and protestors on the ground.

Producer
Charlotte Cook is a curator, writer and producer and the co-founder and executive producer of Field of Vision. Prior to Field of Vision, she was the Director of Programming at Hot Docs, North America’s largest documentary festival. Charlotte is also currently a programmer at CPH:DOX and recently produced the films Our New President (Sundance ‘18), The Proposal (Tribeca ‘18) and The Gospel of Eureka (SXSW ‘18).

Founded in 2015, Field of Vision is a filmmaker-driven visual journalism and documentary unit that commissions and supports filmmakers and artists with developing and ongoing stories around the globe. Recent projects have included the Oscar®-winning feature American Factory, the Oscar®-nominated features Strong Island; Hale County This Morning, This Evening; and Oscar®-nominated shorts A Night at the Garden and In the Absence, as well as the Emmy-winning feature Crime + Punishment, and Emmy-nominated feature The Surrender. 
 
Field of Vision has an ongoing commitment supporting innovation and diversity and as such 54% of Field of Vision-supported films have been directed by women and 43% by filmmakers of color. Since its foundation Field of Vision has commissioned, produced and/or supported more than 45 features, 5 episodic series, and 85 short films. This work has premiered at Sundance, Cannes, Toronto, Berlin, SXSW, Hot Docs, Tribeca, and IDFA, among many other festivals garnering numerous accolades and awards. An emphasis on short films has allowed Field of Vision to support fast responses to unfolding political moments in countries including Brazil, France, Hong Kong, India, Japan, The Philippines, Russia, South Korea, South Africa, Spain, and Sudan.

Unfolding across a year, Do Not Split captures the determination and sacrifices of the protesters, the government’s backlash, and the passage of the new Beijing-backed national security law.

USA/NORWAY 2020 35 min
DIRECTOR Anders Hammer PRODUCERS Anders Hammer and Charlotte Cook EDITORS Mackenzie Lukenbill, Bill Ross, Anders Hammer MUSIC Martin Horntveth CINEMATOGRAPHER Anders Hammer PRODUCTION MANAGER Cathy Chu TRANSLATION Cathy Chu LANGUAGE English and Cantonese/Mandarin CONTACT contact@fieldofvision.org

Variety: “China’s Douban Censors the Oscars From Its Platform”, April 9, 2021
Point of View Magazine: “Anders Hammer Takes Audiences to the Frontlines of Democracy in Do Not Split”, February 28, 2021
TheWrap: “Why Would China Censor Oscars Over a Short Doc Nominee? ‘They Are Obviously Afraid,’ Director Says”, March 26, 2021
AFP: Oscars won’t show in Hong Kong for first time since 1969 as state media rails against protest film nomination, March 29, 2021
Variety: “Anders Hammer Chronicles Civil War on the Streets of Hong Kong in Oscar-Nominated Film ‘Do Not Split’”, April 4, 2021
Indiewire: “As China Bans Oscars Broadcast, ‘Do Not Split’ Proves the Power of Short Film — Watch”, April 2, 2021
The Washington Post: “Fearful of political criticism, China won’t show the Oscars live”, April 3, 2021
Deadline: “‘Do Not Split’ Director Anders Hammer On Capturing Hong Kong’s Pro-Democracy Revolt, And China’s Response To Oscar Nod”, April 5, 2021
VOX: A pro-democracy activist on Hong Kong’s year of turmoil: “The city itself is dying”, January 6, 2021

Q&As
Q&A with Anders Hammer, Joey Siu, Joy Ming King, and Steve Maing
Q&A with Anders Hammer, Joey Siu, and Kim Longinotto
A conversation with director Anders Hammer, Joey Siu, and Gary Byung-Seok Kam

Director Anders Hammer has received the Norwegian "Fritt Ord Award" which is given in support of freedom of expression, the International Reporter's Journalism Award and the Big Journalist Award.

The 93rd edition of the Oscar gala will be held on April 25, 2021, in Los Angeles. A physical award ceremony is planned.