The 21st ifva Youth Category Jury Meeting Transcript
Jury members: Adam Wong (Wong), Roy Tsui (Tsui), Adrian Chow (Chow),
Ruby Yang (Yang), Roy Tsui (Tsui), Tony Chun (Chun)ifva representative: Kattie Fan (Fan), Wylie Fung (Fung)
Fan:

Thank you for attending this meeting, the purpose of which is to select the Youth Category
Gold, Silver and 3 Special Mentions from the 9 finalist works. We can discuss the works
one by one and then nominate, what do you think?

Yang:

Can we go straight for nomination?

Fan:

That’s fine. You can each nominate 3-5 works and we can discuss them before deciding on
the awards.

Chow:

I can go first. I have seen the works in the first round, and saw them again today. I nominate
Oxygen for Gold Award, When the Sun Goes Down for Silver, and Special Mentions for
Whiteboard, Happy Dark Hour and If.

Tsui:

I also go with Oxygen for Gold Award, When the Sun Goes Down for Silver, and Special
Mentions for Whiteboard, Happy Dark Hour and All I Want.

Wong:

I agree with you. First place for me is Oxygen, second place is When the Sun Goes Down.
I also like All I Want, If and Whiteboard. After watching on the big screen, I like When
the Sun Goes Down more.

Chow:

I feel the opposite. I liked When the Sun Goes Down originally, but when I watched it on
the big screen, the lead actress’s flaws were magnified. She feels weird, more like a typicalHong Kong girl.

Wong:

The lead actor is good.

Chow:

I agree.

Wong:

The biggest problem is the voice dubbing, which affects the whole work and make it seem
calculated. It’s the same with All I Want. I want to know why, despite their youth, they
have such mature views about love which shows up in the work. It’s as if they are very
experienced in the matter.

Tsui:

Because it’s realistic. Don’t you remember when you were young, you were like that as
well? It’s as if they had seen it all.

Wong:

I find All I Want a bit pretentious, while When the Sun Goes Down is more sincere, andits dialogue is meaningful. The Oolong tea analogy is spot on.

1

Yang:The male voice dubbing sounds like a man in his 30s, which makes it seem pretentious.
Even though All I Want is more unpolished, its structure is interesting. As a work of ayoung filmmaker, I find it more convincing. All I Want is also more fresh.

Chun:

Both works are about love, and both reflect the mindset of young people nowadays. They
start dating at an early age. The film language and of When the Sun Goes Down imitates
contemporary films, which makes it more palatable, while All I Want is more raw, and thedirector uses their own way to make the film.

Yang:That’s why I feel a raw approach is better for young people. Even though there are a lot of
mistakes in All I Want, the director is willing to explore and try out different ways to makea film. This is what young people should do, rather than imitate. They should develop theirown methods. Compared with When the Sun Goes Down, I prefer All I Want. I also agree
that the Gold award should go to Oxygen.

Wong:

However, I feel that the actors in All I Want are not likable. The only way to explain it isthat some people are just as pretentious in real life.

Chun:

If I’m not mistaken, the male actor is also the scriptwriter. Is that correct?

Fan:Yes, the director and the lead actor are the same person.

Chun:

Then the pretentiousness may just be him being himself.

Yang:

He does seem to be pretentious.

Wong:

His acting is stiff.

Yang:

Young people are like that. If his performance was perfect, I would be less convinced. I
think the performance in When the Sun Goes Down tries too hard.

Tsui:

Both films are calculated. The dialogue in When the Sun Goes Down, which isinterspersed throughout the film, is meaningful.

Wong:

The dialogue in All I Want is pretentious.

Chow:

I find it bothersome.

Wong:

The dialogue is too deliberate. The actress tries hard to be natural, but as they talk back andforth to each other, the flow is not logical. I suspect the actress spent a lot of time and effort
memorizing her lines.

Chow:

Do you (Yang) choose The Dormer as Silver Award winner?

Yang:Yes.

2

Chun:I am still considering. Oxygen is head and shoulders above the rest. The cinematography,performance, directing and sound are superior to others. It undoubtedly deserves the GoldAward.

Fan:You have not mentioned GONE 2015 and Life Through a Lens. Do you have anysuggestions to give them?

Yang:

Life Through a Lens uses too much music, and the story is too predictable.

Wong:

The story is clichéd and easy to guess. But the production craftsmanship is quite good.

Chun:

If the theme of Life Through a Lens is about escaping from the expectations of the older
generation, then the way it’s written falls into those expectations. If the protagonist feels
trapped and can only work in an office, he should be angry at receiving the camera, nottouched.

Chow:

I like the music. I think it’s an original composition. In the scene where he remembers hisfather, the music follows a theme, which is well-considered.

Fan:

How about GONE 2015?

Chow:

They are probably international school students.

Wong:

The treatment of GONE 2015 should be better. The ending echoing the beginning is justform, and seem meaningless.

Fan:

You all chose Oxygen as the Gold Award winner. What do you want to say about it?

Yang:

I think the part with the father at the end is a bit clichéd and unnecessary. The part with thereporter is also not needed. Overall the casting and visuals are good. For a work by a youth,
it is quite good.

Wong:

The production is quite grand. However part of the story does not make sense. Is the partwith the Chief Executive about using another point of view to talk about those in power?
Yet it is undeveloped. If that is not his intention, then the story is just a clichéd one about
the opposition between protestors and those in power. I don’t know why the ending is sodragged out.

Yang:

The opening is also too long.

Wong:

It’s too immersed in that kind of atmosphere. Why does the chief executive have to make aspeech in front of an empty auditorium? What does that mean?

Tsui:

I thought they would use some crowd cheering sound effect in that scene, but they didn’t.
This production team is quite something for someone under the age of 18. The visuals,
3

music and way of expression are very broad-ranging and mature. The casting of Deon
Cheung takes it to another level.
Chow:

I agree.

Tsui:

It is not without flaws. The use of voice-over drags the film out, and does not fill thenarrative gaps at the beginning and the end.

Chun:

I agree. If they edited those parts out it would flow better. Perhaps the director is afraid theaudience will not understand. In fact, we understand just from watching the part at thebeginning. Perhaps the director doesn’t have enough confidence in her own images.

Yang:

Even though the storytelling of Oxygen is not mature, we should give encouragement toyoung people who pay attention to subject matter.

Fan:

You all agree that Oxygen gets Gold Award?

Tsui:

We should encourage people under the age of 18 to explore this kind of subject matter.

Fan:

So Oxygen will receive the Gold Award. For Silver Award, you have mentioned TheDormer and When the Sun Goes Down. Are there other nominations?

Chun:

I want to hear the reason for choosing The Dormer other than its subject matter. I can thinkof some good points for When the Sun Goes Down, but I can’t think of any for The Dormer.

Chow:

One of the reasons I like The Dormer is due to its subject matter. I like works that deal
with the Umbrella Movement, and want to encourage and recognize such works. Amongthe entries, not that many deal with this topic. The storytelling is also interesting, and goesfrom the home environment to Hong Kong as a whole. Even though the transition issudden, it’s acceptable. I like the film’s progression, for Hong Kong has changed beyond
recognition. To a certain extent, this is a direct expression of that. The ending is clichéd,and the dinner scene feels like a TVB drama. Perhaps I am over-interpreting it, but thisscene hints that Hong Kong is their home, and they have to try and fix things. It’s not aboutleaving home and not returning.

Yang:

I agree. The story develops from the home. The ending is clichéd, but they have their own
point of view and have thought things through. The voice-over is a bit stiff, but it’s ok. It
does not over-emphasize the Umbrella Movement, and does not go overboard. As a workby young people, it has good concept and reflects upon Hong Kong society.

Chun:

For young people, love and hate are deeply felt. Now the story doesn’t fully make sense,and feels a bit like ETV.

Chow:

Even if Hong Kong has worsened, they still don’t want to leave because it’s home. It is notabout traditional values. Perhaps I’m over-extrapolating.

4

Tsui:

After hearing your (Chow and Yang’s) views, I almost want to switch my vote to this work.
I agree with what you say, but its technique prevents me from getting into it. When picking
Gold and Silver Award winners, I look for the work’s completeness, whether its technique
is smooth and if the images are beautiful. For Special Mention I would go for crazy andunusual works. For example, I think of All I Want as the Mong Kok version of Before
Sunrise; Happy Dark Hour uses atmosphere and mood to drive the film; Whiteboard is
fun and raw, and I like the eraser gag at the end.

Wong:

I agree with what Chow said about The Dormer, however, it leans too much in that direction.
Its technique is very raw. Also I don’t understand why the main character goes back homefor dinner after taking part in the Umbrella Movement. I don’t see Chow’s interpretation, I
don’t understand why the lead character goes home all of a sudden.

Chun:

I don’t get that reading either, so I didn’t form an impression.

Yang:

What is your reading?

Chun:

He is forced to go home. In my line of work, I often see youths being forcibly taken homeby the police, teachers or social workers. It is only when they meet a new girlfriend or get
married and form a new home do they obtain a sense of coming home. The mother suddenly
becomes not angry—we’d only see this kind of thing in dramas.

Yang:

I don’t think the character has thought too much about it. He goes out, experiences somethings and comes home for dinner. Perhaps you are over-interpreting. The dialogue isproblematic, but for a Youth Category work, we shouldn’t expect the dialogue to be tootidy.

Chow:

After hearing Chun’s views, I understand more about the problem with this film. I am
reading the film symbolically. The film’s problem is that it does not offer a way ofinterpretation, whether to have a surface reading or to interpret its symbols.

Chun:

Even “blue ribbons” could read the scene as a prodigal son returning, and people fromdifferent positions can read the film in a different way. This is the most problematic part ofthe film; is this what the filmmaker intended? When the Sun Goes Down is a more
complete work, and I am more impressed by it than by The Dormer. We can discuss what
you like about When the Sun Goes Down.

Tsui:

I think romantic films in the mother tongue, that is, Cantonese, are awful. Because it is in
the mother tongue, the romantic dialogue is cringey. Even though the dialogue in When theSun Goes Down is well considered and smooth, it is difficult to do good romantic dialogue
in Cantonese.

Wong:

The first scene is good. They use a real couple, and have them break up at the end, whichis brilliant!

Tsui:

This film has the most quotable dialogue.
5Chun:

It tries to do every scene in one take, which they must have spent a lot of effort on. They
try not to go with traditional filmmaking methods, which is difficult to do. The result is not
too pretentious.

Fan:

Do you agree on the Silver Award?

Wong:

Perhaps we can vote?

Fan:

The most important thing is that you are satisfied with the results, and discussion may help
you obtain consensus.

Yang:

I agree with the production value of When the Sun Goes Down, but the voice dubbing is aserious problem, and I can’t get into the film because of it. I find two secondary school
students who have been through a lot not very convincing and awkward. The technique andexecution s good, but I deduct a lot of marks because of the dubbing, which doesn’t suit themain character.

Chow:

I also like When the Sun Goes Down, and wrote the juror’s comments for it. The only
reason for not choosing it as Silver Award winner is because it looks awkward on the bigscreen, and everything is magnified. The difference in energy between the male and female
leads is big. This is just my opinion. If everyone picks this film as Silver Award winner, I’mwilling to go along.

Yang:

I can accept When the Sun Goes Down as Silver, and The Dormer is third place.

Fan:

We don’t have third place. It can be Special Mention.

Yang:

I understand. That’s acceptable.

Fan:

So Silver Award goes to When the Sun Goes Down, while Gold Award winner is Oxygen.
You can pick three Special Mentions from the five works: All I Want, Happy Dark Hour,If, Whiteboard and The Dormer.

Chun:

I like All I Want and Whiteboard, while Happy Dark Hour plays with form in a fun way.

Fan:

Maybe we can use the method of elimination. At this point, few jurors picked If.

Wong:

If is tidy and the script is complete. If we put aside the clumsy plot progression, its acting
and storyline is complete, and I was touched by it. I like the tragic ending. But thestereotypical mouthy classmates are unacceptable. The lines are delivered too rapidly andI don’t know whether it’s deliberate or a mistake. The transitions are too forced and rely
too much on dialogue. This is its greatest flaw.

Yang:

If feels like a film made by secondary school students the most. The subject matter touches
on lesbianism and bullying, which is good.

6

Chun:

But the stiff acting made it hard to get into the film. Its treatment of suicide andhomosexuality is not deep enough. The psychological state of the character prior to her
suicide by wrist cutting is not very natural.

Yang:

The young filmmaker has not thought it through properly.

Chun:

If they had done more research, the script would have been better and more convincing.

Wong:

Its flaw is that it is too proper and not mature enough. The director must be a good student,
who put into the film all that they’ve learnt, but in a stiff way. I am not very fond of Happy
Dark Hour, which I think is too ordinary and easy, there is no development. It stays on thesame level from beginning to end.

Yang:

I agree. It’s saying the same thing for five minutes.

Wong:

They just added a filter to the images, but it doesn’t mesh with the content.

Chun:

It keeps repeating itself four or five times, and there is very little development. I don’t knowwhat the main point is.

Fan:

What do the other two jurors think?

Tsui:

I hope to have a non-conventional work win. Even though it is repetitive, this is the effectthey need. Compared to the more cautious If, I’d rather pick Happy Dark Hour.

Chow:

I like Happy Dark Hour. It deals with mood and visual texture. The repetition of the soundis what is needed in this drama. It tries to stimulate the audience with repetition so that they
feel the sexual repression. I don’t like All I Want especially after seeing it on the big screen.
The dialogue is bothersome and repetitive. It tries too hard to be raw, and imitates Wong
Kar Wai. We picked If last in the first round after watching over 90 entries. When we weretired from watching all those films, If seemed good. But among the finalists, it is notoutstanding. It begins with the lead character taking a bath and talking on the phone, andthen flashes back to tell the story, which is well-designed. I agree that it deals with the issueof lesbianism.

Fan:

How about Whiteboard?

Chun:

Whiteboard re-imagines a boring classroom--that in itself is commendable. All I Want issimilar to young people’s cases that I have, they all have love troubles that go back andforth, which is bothersome. The dialogue is close to the way young people talk.

Tsui:

Whiteboard starts out with an ordinary topic, but deals with it in a creative way.

Yang:

Whiteboard is fresh and creative. It should definitely be among the Special Mentions.

Fan:

Do you have anything else to add? If not, we can vote.
7

Tsui:

I want to add that the Chinese name of All I Want is worth mentioning. It is self-consciousthat its theme is clichéd.

Wong:

Do we pick three works out of the five?

Fan:

That’s right. The candidates are All I Want, Happy Dark Hour, If, Whiteboard and TheDormer. You should pick three works out of the five, so each person has three votes.

Result of vote
Whiteboard 5 votes
Happy Dark Hour 2 votes
The Dormer 4 votes
All I Want 4 votesIf 0 votes

Youth Category
Gold Award
OxygenYip Yuen-ching
Silver Award
When the Sun Goes Down
Cheng Kui-sum, Wong Chun-lung
Special Mention
Whiteboard
Keung Shing-lok
The Dormer
Ho Yui-chi Savio
All I Want
Wu Tin-long

8