A documentary detailing the brutal reality of forced organ harvesting in China has picked up another award, for shedding light on unprecedented human rights abuses sanctioned by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
“State Organs: Unmasking Transplant Abuse in China”
tracks the heart-wrenching journey of two families over more than 20 years as they searched for their loved ones, who went missing under mysterious circumstances in China in the early 2000s. Along their search, the families
uncover the horror of a state-run organ harvesting operation targeting innocent people.
The documentary, directed by Peabody Award-winner Raymond Zhang, was recently
recognized for “Outstanding Achievement” for the 2024 Humanitarian Award by the Accolade Global Film Competition, a global virtual film competition
established in 2003.
The
award is handed out annually to filmmakers who are “committed to making a difference in the world” and tell their stories with “outstanding filmmaking craft,” according to the Accolade’s website.
“After WWII, people kept saying, ‘Never again, never again.’ Now, it happened again and is still happening right now,” Zhang said in a June 7 statement about his film’s latest award.
“The difference is, today, while we still have time to stop this new form of genocide, we still have this opportunity to change the course of history that is happening right now.”
He said that if viewers can share what they saw and heard in this documentary with family, friends, and lawmakers, “together we could change China to [become] a safer country and make this world a better place.”
The Accolade called the film “a powerful documentary” and “a searing testament to human dignity and the urgent need to confront this grave atrocity.”
“Through intimate interviews, rare footage, and evocative storytelling, the film gives voice to those silenced and forgotten, capturing the raw pain, resilience, and courage of families fighting for justice,” it said on its
website announcing the winners of the Humanitarian Award.
Forced organ harvesting is a practice where organs are removed from individuals without their consent. In 2019, an independent people’s panel in London called the China Tribunal
found that the Chinese regime had been harvesting organs from prisoners of conscience for years “on a significant scale,” with Falun Gong practitioners being the primary victims.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual practice consisting of meditative exercises and teachings based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. Before the CCP launched its persecution against the group in 1999, the practice was
enormously popular in China, with official estimates indicating that at least 70 million people had taken up the practice since it was introduced to the public by Mr. Li Hongzhi in 1992.
The persecution has continued to this day. According to statistics collected by the Falun Dafa Information Center, millions have been detained inside prisons, labor camps, and other facilities;
more than 100,000 have been tortured or abused in custody; and thousands have died from torture while detained.
“State Organs” had won the Best Direction and Best Musical Score in the feature-length documentary category at the
2023 Leo Awards, and Best Human Rights Documentary at the
2024 Manhattan Film Festival. In March 2024, the Accolate
recognized the documentary with the Award of Excellence.
Since last year, the documentary has received positive audience feedback following screenings in Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, San Francisco, and
New York City.
Evalyn Chen, a legislator in Taiwan’s New Taipei City, called the Chinese regime’s forced organ harvesting “murder” and a “challenge to all of humanity,” after seeing the documentary at a screening event in Taipei,
according to her Facebook post on June 7.
Chen urged the Taiwanese not to travel to China for organ transplants.
“Taiwan’s democracy and freedoms must not be used to whitewash the crimes of a totalitarian regime, nor can the island be allowed to become a gateway for the black market for organs,” she wrote.
The documentary is set to premiere later this month in the Netherlands, Sweden, and France.
