Eternal Spring
Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2022
May 20 - 26, 2022
Combining present-day footage with 3D animation inspired by Daxiong’s art, Eternal Spring retraces the event on the 20th anniversary of when the outlawed spiritual group Falun Gong hijacked a state TV station in China, and brings to life an unprecedented story of defiance, harrowing eyewitness accounts of persecution, and an exhilarating tale of determination to speak up for political and religious freedoms, no matter the cost.
Eternal Spring also screens digitally nationwide between May 20 – 26 on HRWFF’s digital streaming platform. Watch here.
Q&A with Director Jason Loftus, Film Participant Daxiong, Pozen Visiting Professor, University of Chicago and Human Rights Lawyer, Teng Biao, moderated by HRW Asia Division Senior Research Yaqiu Wang.
In March 2002, members of the outlawed spiritual group Falun Gong hijacked a state TV station in China. Their goal was to counter the government narrative about their practice. In the aftermath, police raids sweep Changchun City, and comic book illustrator, Daxiong (Justice League, Star Wars), a Falun Gong practitioner, is forced to flee. He arrives in North America, blaming the hijacking for worsening a violent repression. But his views are challenged when he meets the lone surviving participant to have escaped China, who is living in Seoul, South Korea. Combining present-day footage with 3D animation inspired by Daxiong’s art, Eternal Spring retraces the event on its 20th anniversary, and brings to life an unprecedented story of defiance, harrowing eyewitness accounts of persecution, and an exhilarating tale of determination to speak up for political and religious freedoms, no matter the cost.
“History has taught Chinese people a lesson: dare to stand up to the Party, and you will suffer.”
—Daxiong, Film Participant, Eternal Spring
All cinemas are wheelchair accessible. Fully subtitled in English. Closed Captions and Audio Description available in English in-person and online. Assistive listening devices available for all screenings. Please visit individual venue websites or contact individual box offices for details and note that equipment is subject to availability. Post-screening discussions will offer CART (live transcription).
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