thThe 12 ifva Youth Category Jury Meeting Transcript
Jurors in Attendance: Derek TSANG (TSANG), Eric POON (POON), Gary TANG (TANG),
Cedric CHAN (CHAN), PixelToy
Organizer Representatives: Teresa KWONG (KWONG), MAN Cheuk Yee (MAN)thKWONG: First of all I like to thank you all for becoming the 12 ifva Youth Category jury. The purpose of
our meeting today is to determine the prizes for this year’s Youth Category. During our firstround meeting at the end of December, the three jury members felt that the quality of this year’s
entry is outstanding, so we have chosen 15 works to be the finalists out of a total of more than
60. I suggest you give comments on each of the 15 works, then select works worthy of awardsndin the 2 round, then vote for the various awards. If you are fine with this arrangement, we canstart our discussion.
TSANG:

I think A Taste of Summer is mature in terms of its technique and editing, but it is too much
like a youth soap opera, so it lacks personal style.

POON:

I agree. But I have to declare that I know this female director. She likes Hong Kong films a lot,and really wants to make films in the Hong Kong style, so she uses a great deal of elementsfrom local cinema. That’s why A Taste of Summer feels like a Hong Kong film.

TSANG: I feel that she worked hard on this film.
CHAN:

I’m not too familiar with Hong Kong films. Can you explain what you mean by Hong Kong style?

POON:

Actually her entry from last year, 0 Budget, is even more extreme. It is quite a funny work. This
work is quite an improvement from last year’s, even though it looks like an episode of Y2K. But
perhaps it’s unfair to make comparisons with last year’s work.

TSANG: Hong Kong style is like a group of young people just goofing around and talking noisily, butwhen it comes to emotional scenes the treatment is not serious enough. This work touches onmale and female homosexuality, but they treat it in a flippant and playful manner, which is very
“Hong Kong style”.
CHAN:

Does this have to do with their ages? Or perhaps because the director is too young to be able
to extract a credible performance from the actors?

POON:

That’s possible. Like I said, she really likes Hong Kong films, so this work contains a lot ofreferences from local cinema. Her previous work was even more extreme, and reenacts manyscenes from Hong Kong movies, but is done in a satirical and playful way. In this work many
elements are very smooth, like the storytelling. Compared to other works, the script is quite
complete.

TSANG: That’s right.
POON:

It contains all the appropriate elements. In terms of cinematography it is quite fresh.

TSANG: It is quite safe.
POON:

The scene in the corridor is fresh, but the line “Is he crazy?” is very Hong Kong style.
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TANG:The dialogue is very secondary-school student like. But I feel the story is quite complete. As forthe flippant treatment of homosexuality, I think it’s because she is too greedy. She wants tomake a film, but also wants to talk about homosexuality, and cannot find the balance between
the two. Perhaps she wants to do too much, and falls short in some respects. This isundoubtedly due to her age, but I have reservations regarding whether the story is complete.

POON:

Watching this film, what gives me the deepest impression is a group of people who love films
coming together to make this film. Even though their style may be copycat, that sense ofenergy is strong and impressive.

TANG:

I feel that they had fun making this film.

PixelToy: This is the first film we saw. To me, the whole production is better than I expected. As for the
script and the production, I think they are above standard. I can see that some of the actors
really try hard to play the role. Eric said she really like Hong Kong movies. I wonder if she istrying to make another kind of Hong Kong film?
POON:

That’s possible.

PixelToy: In her work I notice a certain ambiguity. She wants to make a fresh, youthful Hong Kong stylefilm, but at the same time she wants to make things comedic. Perhaps she lost the balance
between the two.
CHAN:

The middle part is a bit unclear. You are left wondering if she purposely wants to leave things tothe audience’s imagination, or is she just playing around? I think she wants to find the balancebut is unable to do so.

PixelToy: Yes, I think she lost her balance, but we can see how the film progresses from beginning
through ups and downs to the end. I think she made a very complete film.
TSANG: Does she like Stephen Chow?
POON:

She really likes him a lot. I think she knows many Hong Kong films by heart, especially Stephen
Chow’s works.

KWONG: Last year she re-enacted many scenes from Hong Kong films, which features the same cast.
POON:

She already has a regular ensemble.

KWONG: The next work is Three of Kind.
POON:

I have another declaration to make. I’ve interviewed the director of this work.

TSANG: Even though I’ve watched it twice, there are still some things I don’t understand. Why did hehave to kill that guy with glasses? Is it because he stole his wallet?
PixelToy: This is never explained.
TSANG: There is a shot at the end depicting their childhood.
PixelToy: That indicates they were enemies before.
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TSANG: I want to know if that means something happened between him and the guy with glasses?
POON:

I think they had some sort of conflict.

TSANG: It’s not clearly stated.
PixelToy: The problem is all three main characters look too much alike.
TSANG: That’s right. The first time I watched it I had to rewind to make sure.
PixelToy: This is a big problem. Perhaps it’s a matter of resources. Maybe they only had these three
actors to choose from.
TSANG: If one of them were to take off his glasses it’d be better.
PixelToy: That’s right, or they shouldn’t all wear checkered shirts at the same time.
(Everyone laughs)
TSANG: Why would the terrorist know the other two were old enemies?
POON:

It’s not explained.

TSANG: Perhaps I think about this too logically. Actually his use of structure and editing and the way heswitches back and forth between different time and space is quite good.
POON:

He is too ambitious. I think the work is flawed because from the start he did not set up thethree characters and their stories properly, so when the drama occurs at the end, it appears
confused.

TSANG: Actually having the explanation at the end is fine, but what needs to be pointed out is that theending does not satisfy us. What actually happened? What relationship does the terrorist havewith the other two? It’s not satisfactory.
POON:

Looking at his synopsis, I feel all the more strongly that his story is not clear enough; it’s quite
confused. That’s why the three characters at the end do not stand out. The by-stander, thevictim and the so-called strong one; the way the author explains things make it even more
unclear. At the end the roles of all three are switched, but they were not well-established to
begin with. Even though I can follow the middle part, because things are not established at the
beginning, it affects the ending.

PixelToy: He wants to use certain narrative techniques from western films, but the beginning lacks rhythm.
He wants to tell the story backwards, and put the beginning at the end, but forgot that thisbackward way of story-telling requires a set-up.
POON:

That’s what works in the Youth Category are like. Given that he is only a Form 5 student, you
should be more forgiving. It’s quite good that he managed to film such an abstract story.

TSANG: Actually the editing is very good. Among the 15 works his use of music is the best. He hassound effect, whereas most entries neglect the element of sound. He edits according to theflow of the music, and has a good sense of rhythm.
3PixelToy: That’s right. I mentioned this in my jury comments. It is clear that he had put a lot of effort in thesound department.
TANG:

His technique is very good. But the problem is that he tries to tackle a big subject, and he can’t
handle it.

TSANG: I don’t think so. I think the problem is that he did not think through the story’ logic and sub-plot
before making the film. If he’d spent more time figuring out the characters and their relationship,
he would have been able to handle the story.
PixelToy: I think he’s expressing what he wants to express.
POON:

Yes, and that’s ok.

PixelToy: As long as he pays attention to the story’s details.
POON:

Because we’re still asking who the wallet belongs to.

(Everyone laughs)
PixelToy: Also what purpose the wallet serves.
CHAN:

All he needs is a few shots, which could explain everything.

POON:

If he had used tighter shots, it would allow us to recognize the characters more.

TSANG: Actually the wallet at the beginning and the end should be in the present tense, and other parts
are told in flashback, just like 24. When they talk about getting revenge, they had alreadyplanned to drop the wallet in order for their enemy to pick up. That part of the story is in thepresent tense.
PixelToy: So you can separate present tense from past tense.
KWONG: The next work is Dejavu.
TSANG: I like this work a lot. I think its texture is nice to look at.
PixelToy: That’s right. Its texture is quite fine.
TSANG: What equipment did he use?
POON:

DC.

PixelToy: Digital still camera.
TSANG: The texture really fits the story, and gives it a personal feel.
CHAN:

The use of light and shadow is good.

TSANG: It is very much like a Shunji Iwai film, especially Hana and Alice.
POON:

Is Dejavu the one with the French song?
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TSANG: It’s sung by a Japanese singer.
PixelToy: I think it’s Mondialito.
TSANG: He picked a good song.
POON:

Yes it is, otherwise ifva would not use it in their trailer. I think the dream part is good, andvisually full of potential. Among all the works this one has the most visual potential. However
the reality part is like a different film. When I was watching the net and flower sequence I had agreat deal of expectations.

TSANG: I think the most problematic part is the ending. He does not need to die.
CHAN:

The ending ruined it.

PixelToy: You don’t understand how a teenage girl thinks. I think they wasted the part about premonition.
At first I had high expectations because of the subject matter, but the ending is more about
teenage girls.
POON:

The way they say their dialogue is like reciting from a book. I don’t know if they did it on
purpose, but how can this way of delivery be good?

TSANG: There is a lack of emotions. At first I thought it was awful, but then I got used to it and felt it was
fine.
POON:

I still remember the dream sequence.

PixelToy: I remember that too.
POON:

Should this director continue to make films, her work would be worth anticipating if she
continued to develop her strength.

KWONG: The next work is Unbelievable.
PixelToy: This is a big production.
CHAN:

It’s an epic.

PixelToy: I wonder how they did it?
TANG:

It’s very professional.

KWONG: They claim they did it themselves.
CHAN:

Do they need to use a lot of lenses to achieve this color effect?

TSANG: You can do that in post-production. It’s not too difficult.
CHAN:

Do they need to do special lighting during production?

PixelToy: I think they did do lighting.
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TSANG: He used green lighting.
PixelToy: It’s quite impressive for a student production.
CHAN:

Even though he used green lighting, it does not look like one of those 80s Hong Kong films.

PixelToy: That’s right, he knows how to light.
TSANG: His treatment of atmosphere is good, and creates a sense of horror and dread.
TANG:

I was spooked.

PixelToy: Me too.
TSANG: I feel the work has a serious flaw, which is that the actors aren’t very serious and didn’t get into
their roles. This is something the director should work on.
POON:

In other words his directing.

TSANG: That’s right. I feel the shots and editing are done well and creates a certain atmosphere, but theactors are not convincing in their line delivery and expressions.
POON:

Another problem with the director is that he explains everything as if he was making an ETVshow, As a director he should think of other ways to put across things instead of saying themout loud. He has good filming technique, but as a director he should be able to judge what isnecessary and what isn’t.

CHAN:

That’s right. Some of the dialogue in the middle is very ETV-like.

POON:

He has to explain everything.

TSANG: The way the actors deliver their lines is also ETV-like.
PixelToy: Does he want to make something like Kindaichi Case Files?
TSANG: I think so.
POON:That’s probably his reference.

PixelToy: That kind of thing is hard to handle, and it’s easy to get wrong. You have to convey the drama
in a convincing way.
POON:

Perhaps that has to do with the script. With a script like this, maybe the director doesn’t know
how to execute it.

TSANG: Actually the script is kind of sloppy.
PixelToy: Perhaps it’s trying to imitate a certain style of films he’s seen.
TANG:

Maybe it’s based on the whole Kindaichi Case Files series.

POON:

If there was an award for cinematography, this work deserves a chance.
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MAN:

In the Q&A the director said he has not seen any Japanese thrillers or the Kindaichi Case Files
series, but has only read some of those comics.

PixelToy: The comics is exactly done in this style. That’s why he has dialogue like this. The comics relies
dialogue like this to explain things.
MAN:

It’s their first film.

CHAN:

The whole team did a good job, and the post-production is also good.

PixelToy: They have a large crew. If this was their first film, it’s quite impressive.
TSANG: The filming and editing do not look like they were done by novices.
POON:

Perhaps they had instructors or the school’s TV channel as support.

KWONG: The next work is City Symphony.
POON:

Did he attend the discussion? Has he seen Baraka?

MAN:

He didn’t mention it.

POON:

Some of his shots are very much like Baraka, but the shots with the feet are fragmented.

TSANG: Actually films like these are hard to do. It requires that you use the people and things in the city
to build up a certain rhythm, but the city’s rhythm is difficult to capture.
POON:

The fast-motion shots in Baraka are really beautiful and powerful, but the shots with the feetlack linkage. If it was connected with the rest of the film it’d be much better. My suggestion is tomake the shots out-focused ad incorporate them into the strong rhythmic shots. That would bea solution.

CHAN:

The shots with the feet lack rhythm. By contrast, the shots of the city have more of a sense ofrhythm.

POON:

Now it seems like the two are separate.

KWONG: Do you have other comments? If not, the next work is Report.
POON:

Perhaps because I make documentaries myself, I really like this film.

CHAN:

Works like these are not so common in the Youth Category, right?

KWONG: There are many documentaries, but few achieve this kind of standard.
CHAN:

I felt nervous watching this film. However I felt a bit bereft that there are only two interviewees.

(Everyone laughs)
POON:

Yet with only two he is able to move you to such a degree.

CHAN:

Even though it is a documentary, the director uses a lot of subjective shots, and my emotions
follow the film as it progresses.
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POON:He really follows closely with his camera, and the way he arranged his crew to follow different
people over the three days is also good. All documentarians want their cameras to follow theirsubjects closely, and get into their world. At our age, if we were to make a documentary about
the announcement of the public exam results, with our whole television crew, we would not beable to get so close to the subjects. Because they are of the same generation, they know what
will happen next, so you feel everything is well synchronized. Because they are able to follow
so closely, we are drawn into the film emotionally, and the effect is very powerful. This is hardto achieve.

CHAN:

I think it is difficult to gain the trust of the subjects, which allows them to be filmed when they
are going through such emotional turmoil. Only insiders can do that.

PixelToy: They are the only ones who can do that, because they exist in that world, and they are likefriends. If there were adults present, they would not behave like that.
POON:

Even TV documentary programs like Sunday Report or Hong Kong Connection would not havebeen able to make a film of this standard.

TSANG: The two girls are not awkward in front of the camera at all. They behave so naturally.
CHAN:

Like the scene where they try to catch a taxi…

PixelToy: And you see them drenched in sweat…
CHAN:

Also the part with the three sections…

TSANG:

Very good.

POON:

Also the opening part is not hand-held, which means that they did not just randomly picked that
spot, but have looked around and carefully selected that location. You see them talking in theforeground, while in the back parents are busy getting flyers. You hear the interviewees clearly
without being distracted by the background noises. They have taken care of details like this,which shows they have planned everything out.

TANG:

Did they do that interview long before the exam result announcement?

POON:

That was done one or two days before during the parent teacher meeting, in which they
counsel parents on what to prepare. They talk in the foreground about how important the exam
is and how they prepared. Meanwhile you see parents in the background getting flyers. The
shot gives you a lot of information, but does not overwhelm you. That is very good. I think mycolleagues should take a good look at this film.

(Everyone laughs)
POON:

Actually I suggested APA students see this film, especially those intending to makedocumentaries. Sometimes it takes a long time to make a documentary, but a work like this
only takes three days. Does that mean you don’t need to do much? No. you need planning, andresearch the whole thing. You have to do research if you want to make a film this good. This is
not done in three days.

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PixelToy: I remember there is a shot that follows them as they walk along. This kind of shot is notcommonly found in most documentaries. You see the relationship between interviewer andinterviewee is very close, which has a lot of impact.
KWONG: The next work is The Lost Paradise.
TSANG: After watching this film I am worried about this director.
POON:

You’re worried that something will happen to him?

(Everyone laughs)
CHAN:

He keeps thinking about his past, but there is no reference point to the present. I just feel that
he keeps harking back to the past.

TSANG: There are two very powerful scenes. The first is when he embraces his mother, then you cut tothe present and he almost falls down. That shot is very nice to look at. The other is when heembraces himself as a child. That’s quite something. But I’m really worried about him. He looks
like the suicidal type.
POON:

I think he uses too many texts.

TSANG: And they are all out of the margin. This is something he did not seem to have noticed.
POON:

Actually his visuals are strong. If he could eliminate a few things and let the visuals express his
ideas, it would be better.

TSANG: Is some of the segment done in 8mm? Or is he trying to imitate 8mm?
POON:

I don’t know. It should be DV.

KWONG: Do you have other things to add? The next work should be How Handsome Guys Are.
CHAN:

His definition of handsome and ugly is none too clear, and cast actors who are not too
convincing in their roles.

POON:

It’d be better if he used actors from A Taste of Summer .

TANG:

So handsome.

(Everyone laughs)
PixelToy: That one is better, but he appears too good and too nice.
TANG:

I chose this work because it is very cartoon-like and cute, and I laugh every time I watch it. The
whole work is very exaggerated. In many works the weakest aspect is the acting, but this is acomedy. Even though it is over-the-top, the effect is good.

KWONG: If you have nothing else to add, we’ll move on to Crying Out Heart.
PixelToy: I really made comments about Korean films and MVs. I look down on works like that.
(Everyone laughs)
9TSANG:

There are too many of them.

POON:

Reading the comments I had written, I feel I had been quite harsh. I said the work has too muchmusic, which sounds like the music you hear at a restaurant.

TSANG: Even its plot is very much like Korean films.
POON:

Too melodramatic.

CHAN:

He wears those clothes even when he is doing the dishes!

(Everyone laughs)
POON:

The only good thing about it is the actress’ performance. However that restaurant music…It’dbe better if the director had watched fewer Korean movies.

KWONG: Modern Day Youngsters.
TSANG: I quite like its message. Also the way he uses hip hop, MV and black movies to satirize the way
young people today view pop culture is praiseworthy.
PixelToy: Yes, it’s good that somebody did something like this. It’s worth encouraging.
TSANG: Even though his filming technique is still green, it is worth encouraging him.
POON:

Did he hand in a better version? The present one is too compressed, and there is some serious
pixilation in the image. Maybe we should blame the technician at his school. This really affects
the way we look at this work.

KWONG: Lost.
TSANG: There’s a question I really want to ask. Is the English name of this film Lose or Lost? If it isLose rather than Lost, then shouldn’t the Chinese name be 《輸》and not《迷》?
Everyone: It should be Lost.
TSANG: If it is Lost, then he got the name of the film wrong, which is a big mistake.
PixelToy: Making a spelling mistake makes us feel lost.
(Everyone laughs)
TSANG: Actually I quite like this work. It’s very Kafkaesque.
CHAN:

The whole thing is him filming himself.

TSANG: He uses POV technique.
CHAN:

I like the way he plays with the necklace, knife and self-mutilation. You see things like that inother films, but he manages to establish his own rhythm.

TSANG:

I like the fact that he created a surreal world.
10

PixelToy: Which is all about himself. That’s hard to do.
TSANG: If you’d read his synopsis, you realize that what he’s trying to achieve is quite abstract.
CHAN:

His visual expressions are richer than his text.

POON:

I think he dragged it out too much, so that by the end the original sense of oppressiveness islost. It went on for so long that you’re used to it. This work would have been better if it was
shorter.

PixelToy: He went on and on about the same topic.
POON:

This is a common mistake. You never feel your own work is too long.

KWONG: God’s Love.
PixelToy: I think its editing is ok.
POON:Technically, the editing and visuals are quite good. It is quite simple, and the shots quickly
deliver their messages.

TSANG: The inter-cutting of the girl’s close-up with those images is quite nice to look at.
POON:

His visuals are quite strong and touching.

TSANG: Are there any Christians here? I don’t know whether it is wrong of me to criticize the work thisway. When watching the works I usually don’t read the synopsis first because I want to watch
them with fresh eyes. So at first I didn’t realize this film is about God. When the film shows me
the message that God loves all man, I felt like I was watching a ghost film or suspense film witha bad ending. I think the work is fine and the handling is good, but the ending is so by the book.
I don’t see the author’s own voice, his own authentic voice. This is a serious problem.
CHAN:

I don’t care whether he says anything on behalf of his religion. But at the end of the film, theauthor uses those symbols to represent love, which seems clichéd. Paradoxically this makes
me doubt the author’s message.

TSANG: That’s ok, but I feel one should have one’s own point of view regarding one’s religion.
TANG:

If he didn’t use those text at the end and just left it open, and let the audience interpret what
those hands mean, that would have been enough.

POON:

This is a common problem.

PixelToy: I think it is forgivable. They don’t know how to leave things to the imagination, and feel you
have to spell things out. As for the clichéd elements, perhaps they only know how to deal withnegative things. When it comes to positive ones, they only know how to reference clichés
because they don’t know of any other way. To them, being good is very one-dimensional andhas no shades of grey, while there is more room to maneuver with negative things. That’s why
when they deal with positive things, the effect is less than ideal.
CHAN:

This has something to do with their learning environment.
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PixelToy: That’s right. The message we give them is there are many shades of grey, but one kind of right.
This is a problem.
CHAN:

Also there is only one way of talking about what is right.

PixelToy: Yes.
POON:

I think it’s a matter of learning and choice. I’ve seen religious films that are not like this.
Perhaps in this work this is the only way they know how to deal with this topic and talk about
God.

TSANG: Actually there are many good religious films. No matter whether you believe in God, thesefilms can inspire you to think about many things.
POON:

I’ve seen a Catholic film in which they did not quota a single line of scripture throughout the film.
However it talks about many interesting things related to God, which I think is ok. The makersof that film were also young people.

PixelToy: Perhaps we need to show them work like that.
KWONG: Oronine.
PixelToy: I forgot the reason behind the name of this film?
TSANG: Lap Ying is his daughter. If you read across from the first word of each line, it spells out thename of this film.
PixelToy: When I saw this name I thought it would be a funky film. Actually it’s quite serious.
TSANG: Are those few lines of texts quoted from the poem?
PixelToy: No.
POON:

He wrote it himself.

TSANG: I was touched when I watched this film. Few young people are moved by poetry. Putting visuals
into poetry is laudable.
KWONG: Actually this work was made for entry into a competition about literature and videos, I asked
them why they picked this poem. They said it’s because it is one of the texts they had to study
in Form 5, and they liked it a lot, so they used it.
TSANG: Many of the shots are very evocative and matches with the poem. They don’t appear to beoverly pretentious.
POON:

I was pleasantly surprised by the film. Putting image to text is quite hard, yet they dared toattempt it, and executed this project well.

TSANG: The person reciting the poem is good.
POON:

The visuals are well-thought out.

TSANG: That’s why I suspect if the cinematographer is an adult.
12POON:

I want to know as well, because the framing is very good.

KWONG: I Think I.
TSANG: Among the 15 works, this one has the best acting. Both actors are good and natural.
POON:

The location is very good. I want to know where that is.

TSANG: I don’t think there is much to say about this film. The work is very mature. They should keep on
making films!
KWONG: Kwai Ching In Perspective.
POON:

This is quite a fun piece.

CHAN:

Perhaps there should be one for every district.

(Everyone laughs)
CHAN:

I think he is doing research on that district, and then used his own way to make this film.

TSANG: He really likes the prices in that wet market.
CHAN:

He has to adjust his position and report in front of the television.

TSANG: And exactly covers up the TV anchor.
(Everyone laughs)
KWONG: Do you have anything else to add? Otherwise we can go into the second round. You cannominate works that deserve awards. Why don’t you make your nominations now?
POON:

A Taste of Summer, Three of Kind, Dejavu, Report,Oronine, I Think I.

TANG:

A Taste of Summer, Three of Kind, Report, Lost,Oronine, I Think I.

PixelToy: A Taste of Summer, Three of Kind, Dejavu, Report, I Think I, Kwai Ching In Perspective.
TSANG: Three of Kind, Dejavu, Report, Oronine, I Think I.
CHAN:

A Taste of Summer, Three of Kind, Report, Oronine, Kwai Ching In Perspective.

KWONG: Unbelievable, City Symphony, The Lost Paradise, How Handsome Guys Are, Crying Out
Heart, Modern Day Youngsters and God’s Love did not get any votes. So there are 8
nominated works in total. Why don’t we start nominating the Gold Award winner?
POON:

Report.

TSANG: I Think I.
KWONG: Alright. Are there others?
TSANG:

I think Oronine should get special mention.
13

KWONG: So we have two Gold Award nominees. We can start discussing them, or we can lobby eachother.
TSANG: Let’s vote.
(The voting result: Report gets 4 votes, I Think I gets 1 vote)
KWONG: Fine. That means Report will be the Gold Award winner. Are there any nominations for theSilver Award?
TANG:

Oronine.

TSANG: I nominate I Think I.
PixelToy: Can we have 2 Silver Award winners?
KWONG: Yes, and the two entrants will share the prize money equally. Are there other nominations?
TSANG: Dejavu is also very good. But I’d already given my vote to I Think I.
PixelToy: I nominate Three of Kind. Also I suggest giving out two Silver Awards.
TANG:

That’s possible.

POON:

I think that’s acceptable. Three would be too many.

KWONG: Then please cast two votes among Three of Kind, Oronine and I Think I.
(The jury members vote.)
KWONG: Fine. So the silver award goes to Oronine and I Think I. Next we have the Special Mentions.
We suggest giving out 3. The point of the Special Mentions is to give encouragement toparticipants. There are 5 works: A Taste of Summer, Three of Kind, Dejavu, Lost and Kwai
Ching In Perspective.
TSANG: I vote for Dejavu.
POON:

That’s interesting. Actually both Three of Kind and Report got 5 votes, yet Three of Kind end
up not getting either the Gold or Silver Awards.

CHAN:

We all have a certain order in mind.

POON:

We all decided that it could only go so far.

PixelToy: I vote for Kwai Ching In Perspective.
POON:

I vote for Three of Kind.

TANG:

I vote for A Taste of Summer. It depends on how many Special Mentions we can have. I canalso include Lost.

PixelToy: If the purpose of Special Mentions is to provide encouragement, then it doesn’t matter if you
have 5 of them. If our purpose is to encourage them to continue to make films, and all five14

works each have their strong points, then why don’t we fulfill what the Special Mentions areintended to do and give out 5 Special Mentions?
TSANG: I agree.
POON:

I’m fine with it. We selected these works out of 15, so we’ve eliminated half.

TANG:

These 8 works include different genres.

PixelToy: This is a good outcome.
KWONG: Alright. The Gold Award this year goes to Report, and there are two Silver Awards: Oronine
and I Think I. There are 5 Special Mentions: A Taste of Summer, Three of Kind, Dejavu,
Lost, Kwai Ching In Perspective. Lastly, do you have any comments regarding this year’s
works or the competition in general?
POON:

Are there ways to screen out works in which the teachers have been too involved?

CHAN:

Is it very obvious?

POON:

This was the case last year. The competition intends for young people to make their own works.
I don’t know how we can prevent teachers from getting involved and allow students to maketheir own films. Among the works selected, I have my reservations regarding Oronine and A
Taste of Summer, because I suspect that they have other people helping them. Sometimes
the directors don’t know how to make a film, so they get an experienced cameraman to help
them. That’s ok. But we have to know whose influence is greater.

TSANG: I agree. But it’s hard to tell.
KWONG: We don’t want teachers to get too much involved. Luckily all the works this year have elementsthat belong to this generation.
POON:

We hear their voices.

KWONG: But we can’t force people to declare on the entry form whether the works have teachers’
involvement. We can’t control the amount of such involvement.
PixelToy: Does the regulation mention this?
KWONG: No.
CHAN:

It’s hard to avoid. We can only judge from looking at the work.

PixelToy: But this is not fair. If an entrant used his own abilities to make a film, but we used a standard
way of looking at the work, then it’s not fair to him.
POON:

That’s right. Perhaps we’re not fair towards Oronine. Perhaps that cameraman is not as goodas Kwan Pung-Leung.

KWONG: Are there any general trends that you have observed? Like last year, the jury memberscommented that the works used too much text, and that they prefer using text over images totell a story. Do you have any such comments?
15

Everyone: Yes.
PixelToy: Let me go first. I won’t mention the technical problem with the sound and that some have nosound at all, and just concentrate on the image. Sometimes even well-edited works neglect
sound design. Actually sound can help you tell your story. When Eric and I teach filmmaking insecondary schools, we incorporated sound elements in our homework, but when it came time
to combine sound with image, they tend to forget about the sound. In fact there are many toolsthat can help them do sound, so they should pay attention to this.
TSANG: I agree.
POON:

They use too much music.

PixelToy: Yes, it’s like watching MVs. They make my head ache.
TSANG: Sound and image can be two independent elements. You shouldn’t treat sound as asupplementary element to image, but it can actually act as a contrast to image and containdifferent meanings. This is something that Hong Kong films have always lack, and now young
people have inherited that.
(Everyone laughs)
POON:

Actually there is also problem in the text. They don’t believe that images can tell a story, sowhen they want to clearly what they mean, they use text instead of image.

KWONG: Actually Three of Kind has the same problem. Fortunately his text and the story have a certain
connection.
PixelToy: And he uses music and sound to help him express his ideas. Also I think most works do not
dare to leave things to the audience’s imagination.
POON:

A work like Oronine uses a lot of texts, but the texts serve a purpose and fits in with the subject
matter so it’s fine. But other works have too much text.

TANG:

Aside from the texts, I think works from this year are a great improvement from last year. The
editing and shots are done well. However they don’t pay too much attention to the script. For
example, A Taste of Summer is very short, but there are two different narrative strands. In fact
the director could have spent more time to establish the story and make it more in-depth. It is
the same case with Three of Kind. They want people to feel the power of their editing, but inthe process forgot about the story.

TSANG: Sometimes when the authors don’t know how to continue on the story, they use a commercial
formula or story-structure for the sake of convenience, instead of trying to think of other ways.
For example, in Dejavu, they don’t have to die at the end.
POON:

We should praise Dejavu for its cinematography. Its creativity in terms of cinematography is thebest among all the works. It’s very good. It’s a pity about the ending.

PixelToy: Can we say why the works deserve the Special Mentions?

16

KWONG: Yes you can. You can talk about the praise-worthy points in each work. Why don’t we start with
A Taste of Summer?
POON:

I want the director to keep her sense of energy.

TSANG: I feel that she really likes to make films, which I find touching. I know that she put a lot of effort
into this work, and she should try to watch more films, and not just Hong Kong films. Taking inother kinds of films will be of help to her.
POON:

There are also many outstanding Hong Kong films.

TSANG: I’m not saying Hong Kong films are not good. It’s just that aside from Hong Kong films, she
could also watch other kinds of films.
KWONG: How about Three of Kind?
TSANG: The director has a good grasp of editing and structure. His sense of rhythm is also good.
POON:

Compared to his first work, this is a great leap. The first work is about the hardships students
face, and this work tells a story from three different perspectives. This is quite a brave attempt.
Even though there are some things he did not do well, I can see how he has developed. He
deserves to be applauded for his efforts.

KWONG: The next work is Lost.
TANG:

I like its mood, and the juxtaposition of iron chains and steel floor. His sense of symbolism isstrong, and he really knows how to create mood through symbols. He does not need to rely on
dialogue but only images.

PixelToy: His use of images is the best among all the works.
KWONG: The next work is Kwai Ching In Perspective.
PixelToy: I really like this work, it’s full of fun. Kids like to pretend to be adults or someone professional.
They really dare to attempt something cool, interesting and fun.
TSANG: It plays with genre in a campy way. I like it.
KWONG: What is the difference between this work and How Handsome Guys Are?
CHAN:

In terms of execution and the way it selects images and juxtaposes them with other elements
makes it different from other works.

PixelToy: He is very original.
POON:

I feel this work really has independent spirit.

CHAN:

He is the only one who is sensitive to the community.

17Youth Category

Gold Award
Report
LUNG Yin-ping, HO Pui-yi, CHAN Wing-yiu, CHU Siu-kei

Silver Award
OronineKWAN Yik-chung, TSOI Yu-hang

Silver AwardI Think I
MA Ho-yin, CHENG Sin-yu, TSOI Yu-hang, YIP Kwok-kin

Special Mention
A Taste of Summer
WOO Ling-chi

Three of a Kind
CHAN Ka-leung, CHENG Tung-cheuk, CHEUNG Hok-chi
DejavuLAM Pui-yan, LAM Hoi-u
Lost
MAK Ka-kuen

Kwai Ching in Perspective
CHEUNG Chun-hin

18