Filmmakers James Leong and Lynn Lee were assigned by Al-Jazeera English to make a 25-minute documentary about democracy in Hong Kong. The three-part series aired, but hours of dramatic footage from the Occupy protests was left over.

James Leong and Lynn Lee at the protests last year. Photo: UmbrellaDiaries.

“Back then, the campaign for genuine universal suffrage was just taking off, and we spent many hours getting to know activists involved in the movement. They were a passionate, committed lot. But even they could not foresee what was to come. By late September, tens of thousands of Hong Kongers would rise up in the biggest challenge to Beijing’s authority since Tiananmen” – umbrelladiaries.com 

One year on, clips, anecdotes and photographs are now being published at umbrelladiaries.com.

Tom Grundy

Tom is the editor-in-chief and founder of Hong Kong Free Press. He has a BA in Communications and New Media from Leeds University and an MA in Journalism from the University of Hong Kong. He has contributed to the BBC, Euronews, Al-Jazeera and others.