Filmed over 18 months, Lessons in Dissent is a kaleidoscopic, visceral portrait of a new generation of Hong Kong democracy activists.

 

School boy JOSHUA WONG dedicates himself to stopping the introduction of National Education. His campaign begins to snowball when an interview goes viral on YouTube, with the new school year fast approaching, a showdown with the government seems inevitable. Microphone in hand, and still in his school uniform, he leads 120,000 protesters into battle.

 

Meanwhile, former classmate Ma Jai fights against political oppression on the streets and in the courts. Having dropped out of school and dedicated himself to the social movement, he endures the persecution suffered by those not lucky enough to be protected by the media’s glare.

 

Lessons in Dissent catapults the viewer on to the streets of Hong Kong and into the heart of the action: confronting the viewer with Hong Kong’s oppressive heat, stifling humidity and air thick with dissent.