Journalists are trained to be objective. How about when you work under an authoritarian regime while fearing for your life? "Rather be Ashes than Dust" is a first person documentary chronicling a journalist-filmmaker's struggle with his conscience while witnessing intense police brutality against protesters during the 2019 protests in Hong Kong.

The Cube Phantom, directed by Alan Lau, was created in early 2019 before the Hong Kong protests. Through dance, the film traverses diverse locations across the city to explore questions of identity and belonging. “We use images to declare our yearning for freedom, and our bodies to express a century of Hong Kong’s emotions,” says Lau.