POV spotlights courage, resilience, and youthful idealism, in this film directed by Joe Piscatella, and produced by Mark Rinehart and Matthew Torne.
POV “Who’s Afraid of Nathan Law?” airs Monday, September 23 at 10 p.m. on WXXI-TV and available to stream until November 22, 2024 at pbs.org, and the PBS App.
At 21, Nathan Law was a leader of Hong Kong’s Umbrella Revolution. By 23, he became Hong Kong’s youngest elected lawmaker. At 26, he was “Most Wanted” under the National Security Law. Who’s Afraid of Nathan Law?, a co-presentation with Preserving Democracy, a public media initiative from The WNET Group, offers a close look at the city’s most famous dissident to uncover what happens to freedom when an authoritarian power goes unchecked.
In addition to standard closed captioning for the film, POV, in partnership with audio description service DiCapta, provides real time audio interpretations for audiences with sensory disabilities. Now in its 37th season, POV continues to mark its place as America’s longest running non-fiction series.
In Who’s Afraid of Nathan Law? shy college freshman, Nathan Law, discovers an identity in activism. As one of the organizers of a student strike demanding that Hong Kong be allowed to elect their own leader (something promised to them back in 1998), Nathan leads five days of student boycotts with a message of peaceful civil disobedience. When the strike suddenly becomes the Umbrella Revolution, Nathan is unexpectedly thrust into a leadership role that shuts down Hong Kong for 79 days and captures the attention of the world.
When the movement falters, Nathan is charged for his role in the Umbrella Revolution, and his entire generation in Hong Kong has been awoken. Riding the enthusiasm of the student movement he helped spark, Nathan makes the impossible transition from protest leader to elected official, becoming the youngest lawmaker in Hong Kong’s history where he continues his fight for democracy from inside the government.
Fearful of Nathan’s message gaining traction beyond students, the government disqualifies Nathan on a technicality and sends him to jail. As Hong Kong continues to see the erosion of its freedom, a new movement is launched. Whereas the Umbrella Revolution was driven by hope, this new movement is driven by desperation. Nathan’s message of civil disobedience is overshadowed by a new generation of protestors who no longer feel that peaceful demonstrations can save Hong Kong. As Hong Kong descends into the biggest political crisis in modern Chinese history, Nathan must decide his role and his future.
Photo: Nathan Law/ Credit: Provided