All About Us Film Festival 2022
The 2nd All About Us Film Festival was initiated, screening local and overseas works themed around ethnic minorities, aiming to break down the boundaries of race, border, language and gender, and let the voices of diversity be heard.

All About Us Film Festival will be held from 28 October to 30 October, at the Hong Kong Arts Centre Louis Koo Cinema with post-screening discussion on selected programmes.

Opening Film: Free Chol Soo Lee

28 Oct 2022 (FRI) | 7:30pm | Louis Koo Cinema, Hong Kong Arts Centre
 
*With post-screening discussion

Free Chol Soo Lee

Julie Ha, Eugene Yi

Col / 86’ / In English with English subtitles

Selections in 2022 Sundance Film Festival, 2022 Busan International Film Festival, 2022 Seattle International Film Festival

 

In 1970s San Francisco, Korean immigrant Chol Soo Lee is wrongly convicted of a Chinatown gang murder. After spending years fighting to survive, journalist K.W. Lee takes an interest in his case, igniting an unprecedented social movement.

 

*Post screening discussion with:

Host:
Siu Heng
Veteran Arts Administrator and Editor. He served as Executive Officer (Film) at the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority in his early career, and moved on to organising and promoting film and cultural programmes at various arts and educational institutions. He was also an editor of an online DVD retailer and a cultural magazine’s film section. In 2013, he founded Cultural Connections, providing a wide range of services to the cultural and creative sectors. Currently a member of the Hong Kong Film Critics Society, he has edited the anthology Sparks of Film (2005) and translated The Uncanny City (2021) which is an academic publication on Hong Kong cinema studies.

Guests:
Dr Aaron Han Joon Magnan-Park
Aaron Han Joon Magnan-Park is Assistant Professor in the Department of Comparative Literature at the University of Hong Kong. He received his Ph.D. in Film Studies from the University of Iowa. He specializes in poly-Asian cinema with a focus on Hong Kong action and contemporary South Korean cinema. He engages with film aesthetics, culture, theory, history, and sound from an Asian-centric perspective.

Dr Jason G. Coe
Dr. Jason G. Coe is Assistant Professor in the Academy of Film at the Hong Kong Baptist University. He received his BA in English and Film Studies at the University of California Berkeley. He received his MA in Literary and Cultural Studies and his PhD in Comparative Literature at the University of Hong Kong. His research interests include: Asian/American and Transpacific Film and Media, Gender and New Media, and Storytelling, Stardom and Performance from an Asian-centric perspective.

The Unbearable Homecoming: Short Film Selections of Chiang Wei-liang

29 Oct 2022 (SAT) | 8:30pm | Louis Koo Cinema, Hong Kong Arts Centre
 
*With post-screening discussion

Singaporean director Chiang Wei-liang is known for his minimalistic cinematography and narrative structure to depict his care for humanity, with a number of his works have been shortlisted for the ifva Asian New Force Category over the years. Among the three highlighted shorts, Berlin International Film Festival Audi Short Film Award winner Anchorage Prohibited expresses the pain of separation, Nyi Ma Lay documents an attempted suicide with one single long shot, while Nothing in the Cries of Cicadas depicts the absurdity of how the dead has to make their way for the living in a country where land supply is scarce.

*Post screening discussion with:

Host:
Joyce Yang
A film critic, member of Hong Kong Film Critics Society. She has served as a jury member for FIPRESCI Prizes of HKIFF, Hong Kong Fresh Wave Awards, Hong Kong ifva Awards etc. She has co-edited books on the selection of Chiu Kang-Chien’s award-winning film scripts as well as those of his late years. Her book publication in 2022 is the memoirs of Hong Kong Film Production Managers.

Guest:
Chiang Wei-liang
Born in Singapore, Chiang Wei Liang graduated from the Nanyang Technological University with a degree in Communication Studies. His film, Anchorage Prohibited (2015) received the Audi Short Film Award at the 66th Berlinale. His work focuses on migration and diaspora of Southeast Asians in modern Asia.

 

Anchorage Prohibited

Chiang Wei-liang

Col / 17’ / In Vietnamese and Mandarin with English subtitles

 

Without the means to put down roots and settle, two migrant workers seek solutions on an island where anchorage is prohibited.

Nyi Ma Lay

Chiang Wei-liang

Col / 20’ / In English and Burmese

 

In a high-rise private residential estate in Singapore, a girl sits precariously on a ledge but nobody knows why. Faraway in rural Myanmar, a village gathers. Quietly, nary a whimper in the afternoon breeze, the cycle continues.

Nothing in the Cries of Cicadas

Chiang Wei-liang

Col / 18’ / In Mandarin with English subtitles

 

When the dead have to make way for the living, a son and his father contemplate their impending mortality in land-scarce Singapore.

Drifting Strangers: Foreign Workers in Taiwan

ifva Shorts Selection

30 Oct 2022 (SUN) | 3:30pm | Louis Koo Cinema, Hong Kong Arts Centre

Taiwanese director Tseng Ying-ting and Malaysian director Lau Kek-huat are nominated for Best New Director and Best Documentary Short Film at the 59th Golden Horse Awards. They are both ifva alumni of the Asian New Force category, with works Tea Land and Nia’s Door focusing on the daily lives and happenings of foreign workers in Taiwan.

Tea Land

Tseng Ying-ting

Col / 30’ / In Mandarin, Minnan, Thai, Vietnamese and with English subtitles

 

In Taiwan, five run-away migrant workers from Southeast Asia work illegally on a high-mountain tea farm. They became “family” for they were on the same boat. After one of them was dead and his savings gone, the trust among the other four people broke down.

Nia's Door

Lau Kek-huat

Col / 26’ / In Mandarin and Tagalog with Chinese and English subtitles

 

Nia travels far from her home, the Philippines, to Taiwan to work as a family maid. She likes to keep herself in her room with a door separating her from her employers. But this locked door leads to conflicts between them. This is the story of a day of Nia, which also resonates with those who are far away from home.

The Lucky Woman

30 Oct 2022 (SUN) | 7pm | Louis Koo Cinema, Hong Kong Arts Centre 

The Lucky Woman

Tseng Wen-chen

Col / 87’ / In Mandarin and Vietnamese with English and Chinese subtitles

Selection in 2022 Taiwan International Documentary Festival, 2021 Yamagata IDFF, 2020 Women Make Waves IFF

*With post-screening discussion

 

Tsao-yun paid an 8,000 USD recruitment fee and ran away before her 3-year contract was due. Wei-shing is also a 'runaway' who dealt with his homesickness by painting on the wall. Why run away? To make more money or to pursue better opportunities? The film presents the life of runaway migrant workers through Tsao-yun's and Wei-shing's narratives, showing how they risk their life working illegally, hoping to better support their families and change their own futures.

The Everyday Hong Kong Lives of Ethnic Minorities

29 Oct 2022 (SAT) | 5:15pm | Louis Koo Cinema, Hong Kong Arts Centre
 
*With post screening discussion

They are named “minority” just because of the population of their ethnicity. Their usual lives might not be as different as the “majority” after all. Hong Kong director Brian Hung’s documentary Djembe in the 13 Streets attempts to bridge the distance between Africa and Asia, while three short films produced by All About Us student creatives depict the everyday episodes of people living in Hong Kong, some young souls lose track of their meanings of living, while some turn their imagination into moving images.

Djembe in the 13 Streets

Brian Hung

Col / 48’ / In Cantonese, English and Swahili with Chinese and English subtitles

Vijay Mohan Social Change Award from 2020 Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, Official Selection in The 2020 African World Documentary Film Festival, and 2020 Visions du Réel, International Film Festival Nyon Industry Section-Media Library

 

In recent years, more and more Africans have settled down in Hong Kong. Local people may wonder why did they end up coming here? What is their purpose? At the same time, some Hong Kong natives have been gradually developing a keen interest in African culture. How exactly do these two groups of people who could not be more far removed from each other successfully interact? Through them, we can get to experience this interactive journey.

 

*Post-screening discussion with:

Host:
Terence Shum
Terence Shum is Assistant Professor at School of Arts and Social Sciences and Deputy Director of Public and Social Policy Research Centre at Hong Kong Metropolitan University. He has been actively conducting research in ethnic minority and promoting racial harmony in Hong Kong and Thailand for years. He is the secretary of Hong Kong African Association which aims to promote African cultures in Hong Kong, and the co-founder of Cedar Learning Center, Bangkok which provides education to refugee children in Bangkok, Thailand.

Guests:
Brian Hung
Director of The Djembe in the 13 Streets. His other documentary films include Walled Village, Wang Toi Shan (commissioned by CNEX), and Those Unseen Hands (commissioned by RTHK). He is currently the lecturer at the College of Professional of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Cassie Chan
Under the influence of her academic training in Social Anthropology at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, Cassie Chan has gained more understanding through her personal experience with East African culture and languages in both Kenya and Tanzania. Cassie visited the island of Zanzibar often before the COVID era. During her visits, she encountered different walks of life and learned about the traditional arts and crafts of the local community. Cassie is currently working as a ceramic educator with the focus on fostering creativity development through clay among children and young adults in Hong Kong. Her home studio, Twiga Pottery, is located in Sai Kung.

Living in the City: Student Creative Video Showcase

29 Oct 2022 (SAT) | 3pm | Louis Koo Cinema, Hong Kong Arts Centre
 
*With post-screening discussion

Three groups of All About Us students’ creatives, with the guidance from their respective artist tutors, are telling three cross-genres local tales that are of the city and about the city.

 

*Post-screening discussion with:

Host: Ali Shamaz

Teaching artists: Wong Yee-mei, Wong Wai-nap, Wong Fei-pang

Young EM directors: Rizwan Rahman, Rahman Fareed, Phirens Rai 

The Bat Tree

Phirens Rai, Mitchell Singh Hamal, Sunwar Raj, Rai Isaac, Yabesh Pulami Magar, YOON Daye, Wong Cheuk Kwan, Satish Singh Hamal, Sabastina Rai, Liere Benita Leonie

Col / 14’ / In English with English subtitles

 

After a long day, three friends gather and pitch ideas for a film that they want to make together, but they just can’t stop pitching.

Last Novel

Abdul Rahman Mohamed Rizwan, Neha Rai, Rai Yogesh, Yuen Tsz Ling Verandar

Col / 16’ / In English with English subtitles

 

A woman goes to Cheung Chau to end her own life after writing a novel, but when she encounters a lively and flirtatious college student, she rethinks her plans. But will it be enough?

Lost in the Flow

Wavoo Seyed Abdur Rahman Fareed, Asimudeen Sahabudeen, Wavoo Zainul Abdeen, Pirabhu Muaadh Makhdoom

Col / 11’ / In English with English subtitles

 

Two men living vastly different lifestyles explore the meaning of life, “to be significant”. The men struggle in their own ways, but only one of them deciphers what the meaning of life is.

Moving Images of Ethnic Minorities: Showcase in Community

6 Nov 2022 (SUN) | 2pm | Lemna of the Alchemist, G/F, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui
 
*With post-screening discussion

All About Us is a precious chance to speak for diversity and break down the boundaries and stereotypes of race, language, and gender. Community screening will be held at Tsim Sha Tsui Lemna of the Alchemist.

 

*Post-screening discussion with:

Host: Wong Yuk-ying Sonia

Guests: Ali Shamaz, Vu Duc Manh, DotDot Alfs Bryan Pabellan

The Poem of Pakistan

Ryan Chan Hon-yan

Col / 25’00” / In Cantonese and Urdu with Chinese and English subtitles

Nominated for The 58th Golden Horse Awards, 2021 Taipei Film Festival and 2021 Kaohsiung Film Festival.

 

Hamid, a young Pakistani, is an insurance and investment broker. No matter how hard he tries, he finds it hard to be part of the society. He works hard to earn a living and has to take shortcuts sometimes. While handling a medical claim issue, he gets to meet a Pakistan youth who loves Pakistani literature. This encounter brings back Hamid’s memories of his homeland and his family, leading him to reflect on his current way of life.

Where are you?

Johnathan Abellano, Madhavi Gurung, Khan Fardin Dipon, Rana Samikshya, DotDot Alfs Bryan Pabellan, Vu Duc Manh, Jackey Hang Limbu, Irfan Ahmed, John Marcus Banda Mase

Col / 15’ 29” / In English with English subtitles

 

Sadness. Anger. Frustration. These are the emotions felt by a boy, like any other. Waking up and going to school had been an extreme struggle for him over the past few days. Will he ever break this “blue” cycle?

Before It's Too Late 

Ali Shamaz, Butt Abdul Mueed Sajid, Atique Hamza

Col & B&W / 11’36” / In English with English subtitles

 

The suicide angel Jon falls in love with a mortal woman who's an anti-suicide counsellor, Nat.

Knowing that Nat's also having suicidal thoughts, Jon struggles between completing his job or give up his immortality and try to save her.

Ticketing Information

Methods of purchasing tickets

1. Ticket Sale at POPTICKET
Tickets available at POPTICKET from 7 October 2022 onwards.
Internet Booking: www.popticket.hk/en
Programme Enquiries: 2824 5329 / ifva@hkac.org.hk
 

Ticket Price: $80 / $64*

*20% off discount for full-time students, senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities and the minder and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients. Concessionary tickets available on a first-come-first-served basis. Concessionary ticket holders must produce evidence of their identity or age upon admission.

Given the latest situation of the pandemic, ifva may adjust the arrangements of its screenings and events. Please refer to the ifva website and social media platform for updated arrangements.

Programmes are subject to change without prior notice. Programme content does not reflect the view of the presenter.

 

Programme Change|The Lucky Woman 30 OCT (Sun)

The screening of The Lucky Woman in the "All About Us Film Festival 2022" will be cancelled.

 

The following measures will be implemented for screenings, to combat the prevailing threat of Novel Coronavirus:

• All audience must wear face masks and comply with the requirements and restrictions announced by the Government

• No smoking, eating and drinking. Unauthorised photo-taking, audio and/or video recording is strictly forbidden

• Staff have the right to deny the admission of any person with temperature higher than 37.5°C