DIRECTED BY: JASON LOFTUS
SYNOPSIS:
In March 2002, a state TV signal in China is hacked by members of the banned spiritual group Falun Gong. Their goal is 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, now 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.
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Welcome to the live screening of Eternal Spring.
TAKE ACTION
While the abuses against Falun Gong were more frequently in the news in the early days of the government’s repression of the group (for example, in a 2001 Pulitzer Prize winning series of articles by the Wall Street Journal’s Ian Johnson), the detention and abuses against those who persist in Falun Gong continues today. In fact, arrests and surveillance targeting Falun Gong believers reportedly increased in the recent lead-up to the 2022 Winter Games. What’s more, the tactics used against Falun Gong adherents—including large-scale detention and coerced abandonment of religious beliefs—can also be found in the treatment of Uighur Muslims in Northwest China.
ACT NOW
We hope watching and talking about Eternal Spring inspires you to take action.
We’ve given some suggestions of what you can do next below.
Raise awareness
Support those
organising
LEARN MORE
There are a range of resources that you can explore that will teach you more about Falun Gong, China
and help you to educate yourself on the issues at hand.
Read
"Pandemic, Persecution & Pushback" Falun Info (2022)
Falun Gong: Religious Freedom in China Freedom House (2017)
Watch
Bad Ass Beauty Queen (2017)
Hard to Believe (2015)
Human Harvest (2016)
You can also explore the other films and series available through Falun Info TV
Are the human rights abuses depicted
in the film still taking place?
Unfortunately, yes. While the abuses against Falun Gong were more frequently in the news in the early days of the government’s repression of the group (for example, in a 2001 Pulitzer Prize winning series of articles by the Wall Street Journal’s Ian Johnson), the detention and abuses against those who persist in Falun Gong continues today. In fact, arrests and surveillance targeting Falun Gong believers reportedly increased in the recent lead-up to the 2022 Winter Games. What’s more, the tactics used against Falun Gong adherents—including large-scale detention and coerced abandonment of religious beliefs—can also be found in the treatment of Uighur Muslims in Northwest China.
ABOUT THE FILM
DIRECTED BY JASON LOFTUS | ANIMATED DOCUMENTARY |
86 MINUTES | 2022
In March 2002, a state TV signal in China is hacked by members of the banned spiritual group Falun Gong. Their goal is 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, now 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.
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