Raise the Umbrellas

Like We Have Boots, Raise the Umbrellas is part of filmmaker and playwright Evans Chan’s effort to document Hong Kong’s political trajectory in a series of films that, in his words, “summarize issues, provide historical perspective, and hopefully dig into corners of the interviewees’ psyches.” Raise the Umbrellas traces the origins of the 2014 Umbrella Movement in pro-democracy struggles dating to Hong Kong’s time under British colonial rule. Interviews with longtime activists and emerging student leaders reveal the broad and at times uneasy coalition that came together to occupy the streets, while gay Cantonpop singers, young women student leaders, and “umbrella mothers” reveal the necessity of democracy for marginalized voices. Their words are intercut with dances and songs—including the movement anthem that gives the film its title—fueled by the urgency of the protests and the creativity of artists.