Drama going to and after movie screenings this month in Hong Kong

Some bricks missing from pavements in Tsim Sha Tsui

Meanwhile, extra bricks lie by the side of other sidewalks 

Also in the area: a shoddy looking attempt to fill back a hole?

Not so long ago, going to watch a movie at the Broadway Cinematheque in Yau Ma Tei didn't involve much drama.  A good measure of how different Hong Kong has become during the present unrest though is that even a seemingly mundane activity like cinema-going can feel quite fraught with danger these days.  

As an example: back on the evening of November 8th, I emerged from a Hong Kong Asian Film Festival (HKAFF) screening at the Broadway Cinematheque to find a text message on my phone from a friend alerting me to black flag (tear gas) warnings having been hoisted and a police officer having fired a live round not too far away from the multiplex!  Then, one week later, I learnt of the cancellation of another HKAFF screening I had bought a ticket for on account of the cinema having to close earlier than scheduled that day.  

After learning that the HKAFF had scheduled a "make up" screening for that film, I decided that I had to go to it -- even though this new showtime was at 9.45pm, one of my least favorite movie time slots.  As the screening day approached, my enthusiasm for that scheduled screening time sank some more upon certain events (primarily, the siege of PolyU) and circumstances (specifically, the closing of the Cross Harbour Tunnel) making it so that I would not be able to get to and out of Yau Ma Tei using my favored mode of transport for those purposes.

If the film concerned wasn't M for Malaysia, I would have just given up there and then.  But I really wanted to see this documentary about last year's Malaysian election miracle; this especially since I figured it'd provide me with some inspiration to continue fighting for genuine universal suffrage here in Hong Kong, ahead of tomorrow's District Council elections.    

In lieu of the routes of the two direct bus options currently being suspended, I ended up taking two different buses plus the Star Ferry over to Yau Ma Tei and then three different buses home (since the Star Ferry would have already ended service for the night by the time I'd get to Tsim Sha Tsui after the screening).  Making my journey to the Broadway Cinematheque seem more hazardous was that, on the bus from Tsim Sha Tsui further up the Kowloon Peninsula, I passed by sections of the city which looked shockingly torn up -- so shocking, in fact, that I ended up returning to the area earlier today to confirm in broad daylight what I had seen last night.       

As for what happened after last night's screening: as I made my way to Nathan Road to catch the first of three buses I'd be taking home, I passed by a woman screaming at workers near a closed MTR exit.  I didn't stay to find out what the commotion was about but I wouldn't be surprised if she was upset to find that the MTR had closed for the day earlier than she thought would be the case.  

Then, shortly after I got onto that first bus, a number of police vans with lights flashing rushed northwards, presumably to nearby Mongkok and Prince Edward (which the driver of the bus taking me to Yau Ma Tei earlier in the evening told me that his bus would be bypassing).  More than incidentally, a friend told me there have been nightly protests in those areas for weeks, maybe even months, now -- and that they are so much of the new "norm" that there's not much press coverage of them anymore! 

On the same bus heading out of Yau Ma Tei, I encountered two befuddled tourists who hadn't realized the MTR would be closing before 1am and seemed pretty lost in general.  They can count themselves lucky that this week in Hong Kong hasn't been as bad as the previous week (even with the tragedy that is the siege of PolyU going on and protests still taking place).  Even so, I would highly recommend that if you're going to visit Hong Kong anytime soon, do be sufficiently aware of the current situation by doing such as reading up on what's (been) happening here before you come over and consulting knowledgeable locals while you're here!