HONG KONG, Dec 22 — After four months of restless waiting, filmmaker Kiwi Chow received a dreaded, but not altogether unexpected, message: Hong Kong censors had banned his new movie from reaching the big screen.

The 46-year-old’s career, which took off in 2015 with an award-winning dystopian tale, encapsulates how a film industry once known for its audacious spirit and sardonic humour has dimmed to leave artists describing a creative straitjacket.