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Despite their seemingly disparate subject matters, “My Father's House” and “Lost Course”, two independent Chinese documentaries separated by over a decade, have one important thing in common. Their protagonists all easily fall into the category of naïve dreamers. Nigerian pastors in “My Father's House” and grassroots activists in “Lost Course” believe that, despite the Prc turning more authoritarian with each year, they might have an impact on religion or local politics.

“Lost Course”, overwhelming in its scale and longitudinal approach (the film was shot over the course of six years and then post-produced during the next three), has the feel of a sprawling 19th-century novel. The film captures turbulent local politics in the boisterous village of Wukang, and is framed by opening and closing scenes shot from a fishing boat aimlessly wading through a river. At one point, a character likens Wukang in his speech to a ship. Through these images,...

Film submissions arriving mysteriously with no return address are a bit unusual, even for the Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Fest – an event with its fringe street creds solidly in order – says Haruna Honcoop, a Czech-Japanese filmmaker, who was planning a special section on Hong Kong docs this year – that is, until the fest had to be reformatted overnight thanks to Covid-19 shutdowns.

Still, Honcoop managed to get into the program three docs revealing particular perspectives – including the one slipped over the transom, “Red Taxi,” a short that would be illegal to screen in Hong Kong or anywhere on mainland China.

Another doc chronicling the escalating tensions in the former British colony, where residents have been facing down brutal riot police in their demonstrations for civil rights, is Zhou Bing’s “Hong Kong Moments.” With slick production values and official support from the Chinese state, this German co-production is nevertheless...