Filmmakers respond to criticism after taking top prize at Hong Kong Film Awards
PHILA.SIU@SCMP.COM
UPDATED : Tuesday, 05 April, 2016, 11:17am
(From left) Ten Years directors Jevons Au, Ng Ka-leung, executive producer Andrew Choi and director Chow Kwun-wai. Photo: Reuters
The movie that won Hong Kong’s top film honour was a project to encourage people to start thinking about the future of the city, said the directors ofTen Years, adding that the creation of this platform was more meaningful than winning the prize.
One of the directors, Ng Ka-leung, also said that movies should serve as a platform to talk about any issues in Hong Kong, including politics and the people’s livelihood.
“If a movie deliberately tries to avoid talking about politics, that in itself is a political move,” Ng said during an RTHK programme on Tuesday.
Ng made the remarks against a backdrop of criticism that politics has kidnapped filmmaking in the city and politicised the Hong Kong Film Awards, at which Ten Years won the Best Film prize on Sunday.
Ten Years, a dystopian movie consisting of five short films with heavy socio-political undertones, was an unexpected hit for its daring portrayal of Hongkongers’ worries over mainland influence. As the name suggests, it posits what the city will be like in 2025.
The movie consists of five short films, produced by five directors. In one of them, the death of a young hunger striker protesting for independence prompts a sympathetic old woman to set herself on fire in the first self-immolation incident in the city. Hong Kong people’s fear of and alienation from the motherland are on full display throughout the film.
The movie grabbed headlines after Communist Party mouthpiece Global Times slammed it for being “absurd” and “pessimistic”. Mainland media made no mention of the movie when they reported the winners of the Hong Kong Film Awards.
Director Chow Kwun-wai said the low-budget movie was produced because the five of them wanted Hong Kong people to think about the future of the city.
“The five of us directors are not prophets. But we have thought about what will Hong Kong become 10 years from now. Have you?” Chow asked.
“The most important thing is that we have opened up a platform to discuss the future of Hong Kong. That is more meaningful than winning the award,” he added.
On whether the movie deserved the top picture prize when it had not been nominated in any other categories such as Best Effects or Best Actor, Chow said this was “normal” because the movie was made up of five short films.
He also said that his part of the film touches on the topic of Hong Kong independence, but he did not offer an answer as to whether that was right or wrong.
“In fact, my film was a little sceptical about it ... but I asked myself, we should have independent thinking? And so why should I stop myself from thinking about it? Why can’t it be discussed?” Chow said.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1933635/creating-platform-discuss-hong-kongs-future-more
