Human Rights Defender Produces Award Winning Film Banned in China| Edge ...

Human Rights Defender Produces Award Winning Film Banned in China| Edge of Wonder - YouTube




On this episode of #EdgeofWonder we welcome Peabody-winning Canadian filmmaker Leon Lee who explores stories about modern China that can’t be told within Chinese borders. His documentary Human Harvest, about illegal organ transplants, has been viewed by millions, broadcast in more than 25 countries, and received the 74th Annual Peabody Award for Documentary. His company Flying Cloud Productions is dedicated to bringing issues of #HumanRights violations to light in both documentary and narrative film-making. 

His new movie, "Letter from Masanjia," begins when mom of two, Julie Keith, finds an SOS note in a box of #MadeinChina Halloween decorations from an Oregon Kmart. The desperate note was written by a political prisoner named Sun Yi, from inside China’s notorious Masanjia labor camp. On the crumpled page that traveled over 5000 miles, he details being jailed for his spiritual beliefs and how he is being subjected to torture and brainwashing tactics. His message goes viral and miraculously leads to the closure of China’s entire labor camp system. But their story is far from over. In Letter from Masanjia, Leon Lee taught Sun Yi to use camera equipment via Skype. For over a year, Sun Yi secretly captures harrowing footage of his daily life as a human rights defender, leading up to his tense run from the Chinese authorities. Meanwhile, just outside Portland, Julie Keith is struggling with her own dilemmas as a mother newly embroiled in this cause. Together, these unlikely heroes expose China’s ongoing persecution against millions whose ideology differs from the Chinese government. 

Watch Letter From Masanjia here: https://www.letterfrommasanjia.com/wa...