23rd ifva Youth Category Jury Meeting Transcript
Jury Members ：6@RubberBand (6), Andrew Choi (Choi), Adam Wong (Wong), Wong Chun
(Chun),
Anthony Fung (Fung).
Organizer representative： Kattie Fan (Fan), Tobe To (To).
Fan:

Today, we have to pick the Gold, Silver award winners and 3 Special Mentions
among the 10 finalist works. We can start by briefly discussing the works one so thatthe entrants can know what you think about their efforts, and then we will nominate
the award winners.

Wong:

Can you briefly describe how you picked the 10 finalist works in the first round?

Choi:

In the first round, there were many works with varying quality, many were oneminute works, of which we chose 4. In the first round, there were one or two works
that all three jurors liked, and some were only favoured by one or two of us. The
subject matters of these works were mostly personal, like who am I, dreams, exams,
etc. Among the 10 works, some jurors especially favoured one or two. For example,
Jessey Tsang really liked Hokkien Dialect and Mom. The discussion process was
not complicated.

6:

We talked in some detail about the last two finalists.

Wong:

On the whole, do the 10 finalists reflect the range of topics among all the entries?
Do most of them talk about studies and exams?

6:

The UNICEF one-minute films account for a lot of them, and most of them are about“who am I”, and we were able to pick the best ones out of them. The ones we choseare more technically competent, like LIFE / CHESS and Awakening. Kua Kua waschosen by Jessey, a film on an interesting topic that we almost missed. An Exam
Result Decides My Fate? was not my initial choice. The one-minute films were allabout the self, so the films about “self” outnumbers those about “exams”, around
60% versus 40%.

Choi:

There were not too many long dramatic works. The Number You Have Tried toReach is Now Busy and Red were the main ones.

Chun:

Let’s discuss the works one by one.

Fan:

The first one is This is Not the End.

Fung:

Let me go first. I read the comment that even though the subject is a young person,a funeral parlor worker, it does not look at death from a young person’s angle. The
other one is a young person who has particular feelings about death…

6:

William?

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Fung:

Yes, William, from his angle. So, one is a funeral parlor practitioner, one is a young
person. When I read the comments, I had high expectations that it would talk about
youth, life and death, but it does not bring out young people’s imagination about
death.

6:

All three first-round jurors, including Jessey, thought he was bold, or perhaps notbold, but few young people talk about such subjects and discuss death in a deep andprobing way. That’s why we chose it. But Anthony, you are right, everything is told
through these two characters.

Chun:

I think the work is worth encouraging, that as a young person, he skips over topics
that his peers all chase after. The name of the film is good: This is Not the End. He
deals firstly with death, but also tackles the here and now. Even though it is not an
obvious youth point of view because the matter is explored through the interviewee.
The filmmaker did not insert his own point of view as a footnote to the interviewee’s.
As a young person trying to tackle the subject of death, the film is worth encouraging.
Even though we should ignore his age and background and simply look at thisdocumentary, it is worthy of encouragement.

Choi:

We felt the same in the first round. As a documentary, it is not complete. Perhaps
there is not enough material, but we appreciate the effort that he makes.

Fung:

I remember the last shot, which is of a young person playing music at the funeralparlor. I suspect that he shots some footage of young people playing music at thefuneral parlor, but it did not appear in the main part of the film. If it was included,
the work will be richer.

6:

Are you talking about the shot with Michael Ning? I think that is from a RTHK
commissioned program. From what I can remember, Michael Ning and William
produced an episode.

Wong:

It was a funeral he organized for himself, but this film does not make that clear and
we would not understand if we did not know who he is. The funeral parlor worker’s
interview is only very general. The only thing worth encouraging about this work isthat the director attempts to deal with this subject matter, yet he chooses to use avery conventional documentary form. It’s like completing a piece of homework anddoing what he is supposed to do, simply intercutting interviews with some visuals.
It is quite shallow. On the surface, it talks about death. I’d much rather that he deals
with one character, and even if he is unable to dig very deep like a scholar, he could
have explored more if he was so inclined. Now everything is on the surface. He
positions the camera and follows the two people around and approaches the topic
from a safe place.

Chun:

He does not go very in depth. One thing that counts against him is that the form isvery mainstream documentary and simply imitates that style. Perhaps we expect
them to take a simpler approach, and the results may perhaps not be as technicallyproficient, but will contain the perspective of a young person.

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All:

That’s right.

Wong:

If it was me, I’d get close-ups of William’s spots. Hokkien Dialect starts off with aclose-up shot of the father’s skin, which goes very far.

Chun:

Hokkien Dialect……ha ha, let’s discuss the next one. You can tell from its first
shot that Hokkien Dialect belongs to this generation, which is fond of digital zooms.
This is an interesting work. The filmmaker ignores or is not interested in establishedand conventional storytelling and aesthetics. She makes this film using aesthetics ofthis generation.

Wong:

Is she from Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity?

Choi:

Yes.

Wong:

This work is worth encouraging.

Chun:

That’s right.

Wong:This is the most complete work among the finalists. Of course, you can say she lacks
ingenuity, both in terms of technical knowhow and conceptual technique, but her
expression is genuine. Her observations and feelings about her father. She uses
simple words along with images and feelings to create this work.

Fung:

This work reflects the distinctive flavor of new immigrant families. Through herwork, one observes the social conflicts of the former generation, which gives thiswork a social focus. Perhaps the filmmaker could have explained more about her
background, and went deeper and further, for example by talking more about her
mother, but she didn’t.

6:

I liked this work the most in the first round, and it is still my favorite. However, theending is a bit rushed, and could have ended better. I like the scene where she isscolded by his father. I also like the subtitles, which is very colloquial.

Chun:

Even though I don’t know if they are an accurate translation of the Hokkien dialect.

6:

I saw it a few times already, and this time on the big screen. I don’t know about theswear words, but I can hear the word for “wronged”. Perhaps because my father also
speaks in a similar Hokkien dialect, I can identify with the film. I quite like the film’s
genuine nature.

Chun:

I feel the film is very honest. I don’t know if my understanding is correct. These
secondary school filmmakers seem to go in either of two directions. Some aretechnically proficient but not genuine. Perhaps because they are just learning about
the craft, they have to make a choice. If I were to choose, I’d rather a student be
genuine, because once you lose that innocence, you can’t go back, whereas technique
can be trained. That’s why I would rather have a genuine work than a technicallygood one.
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6:

You are right.

Fung:

I like the part where her father does not let her film, but she films herself filming hisfather instead. The father kicks her away. That part genuinely expresses her feelings.

6:

She places a small CCTV camera there.

Chun:

The ending is a bit rushed, but I don’t mind.

Fan:

The next work is Mom.

Chun:

This work strikes a balance between being simple and being genuine, although there
is a lack of genuineness in some parts due to the setting of some parts of the film.
For example, the scene where the girl eats noodles is not very genuine. With the
beginning part about the old person, it took me a while to realize it was written
dialogue. The treatment of those parts was good.

6:

That old actor is good.

Wong:

Because her technique is not sufficient, the genuineness does not carry through.
Sometimes when we say the technique overtakes genuineness, we mean that thetechnique is not good enough and the work is flawed. The director of this film uses
superior technique to make things natural. Some parts are okay, but after the first
third, she starts to imitate other people, and loses the sense of being genuine, which
I felt uncomfortable with. The intention is laudable, and you can tell the director’sgoals and visions are not simple.

Chun:

It is a well-considered work. She knows what she is doing and is ambitious.

Wong:

This type of treatment is enjoyable. It is a drama, but the director does not use
dialogue at the beginning, eschewing conventional means.

6:

Towards the end when the girl becomes the main character, the film loses steam.
When the old person is the main character, the film was enjoyable and I want tofollow its flow. The transitions are done well.

Chun:This is quite common. It is better to film old people because they have moreexperience and are more expressive, but when the story falls on the girl’s shoulders
it goes off rails.

Choi:

If she was a better actor it’d be okay. She tries very hard in the ending scenes, but…

6:

It’s like wandering about with a camera.

Fan:

The next work is LIFE / CHESS.

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Fung:

The film is well-designed. Life is like a chess game. The shots are also good. But it
is too neat and without surprises.

6:

It is like a commercial.

Chun:This type of form is not to its advantage. He sets up a contrast with something good,
but there is no depth to the point of view.

Wong:

All these films are one-minute works from a UNICEF project, which I have seen
many. I also know the process behind their creation. It is hard to go beyond therequirements, and the basic requirement is that the works be one minute long and aremade with the assistance of instructors. The resulting films are like promotional
videos. That’s why a film like Kua Kua is hard to come by. I have no special
affection for LIFE / CHESS.

Fan:

Law of Soldier.

Wong:

I think they included this film among the finalist as a type of encouragement.

Choi:

I think the film is enjoyable, and the male lead is funny. When we were discussing
this film in the first round, we thought it is very characteristic of secondary school
students.

Wong:This kind of film can be done better. The wifi film (a promotional film from a student
union) is very good and belongs to the same genre, which is a promotional video forthe school association. That work is better than this one. Even if it is rough aroundthe edges, such films can be done better. The dancing scene is especiallyembarrassing. If they had practiced more, it’d be less embarrassing.

Chun:

Perhaps that’s the effect they are going for.

Wong:

I don’t like it. At this age, they often think it’s interesting to do silly things.

Fung:

The main part of the film is that Japanese song, which is not original. It leads thewhole film, but there is nothing that the film originates on its own.

Chun:That’s right.

Wong:

I think the Japanese song was the most creative thing that came from the internet.

Fan:

The next one is Kua Kua.

Chun:

I think Kua Kua is the most surprising and fresh work out of the one-minute works.
I wonder what makes this work stand out. Among other works such as LIFE /CHESS, Kua Kua takes a different path.

6:

It does not compete with the other films but tries to forge another path.

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Wong:

I think the film has the right attitude. The work talks about being mediocre and isvery honest. Usually such people will be complaining or say the are very bad, but
this filmmaker strikes a balance and honestly tells us that they are mediocre. This is
hard to explain well. I saw the film a few times, and the first time I thought the film
was being vague but honest, but when the character says “I am the champion among
the rubbish”, what does she mean? It took two or three viewings for me to understand,and then to identify with what she says. They live in their own world, and their entire
world is school life, so for them, they accomplished what they wanted to do in this
way.

6:

She understands, but with us…

Wong:

Yes, there is a generation gap.

Fan:

If you have nothing to add, let’s move on to An Exam Result Decides My Fate?

6:

This is a mini version of RED.

Fung:

In that film, they come down the steps imitating Pink Floyd.

Choi:It’s not something new.

6:

The story is conventional.

Wong:

But the execution is good. I like the second-to-last shot, with the whole class tearing
off their masks. I have met the director and had suggested that this shot could be
more recognizable by having everyone lined up in a row horizontally, with both boys
and girls, wearing different uniforms, some in qipao, some from famous schools, andtearing off their masks at the same time. A freeze frame from that scene would be
convincing and powerful. This film is not very creative, but when placed within thecontext of contemporary Hong Kong, this is a powerful symbol of tradition, and thesymbolism involving tearing up the exam papers and hanging by the neck is
powerful.

Fan:

The next work is The Number You Have Tried to Reach is Now Busy.

Wong:

I quite like this work. I want to know the background of the filmmaker, and why hecame up with this work. The film has many good elements, but the whole work falls
short. Every scene is very personal, but when put together, there is no common theme.
Every scene seems to be subverting something, from the dialogue to people’s
reactions, they all seem to be subverting something in a minor way. Yet the scenes
don’t hold up together, and it’s like a collage.

Fung:

I think the dialogue is well-written and well-thought out.

Wong:

The set is not very good.

6:

It’s all filmed in the school.
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Wong:The set is neither here nor there. It is not abstract but not real, either.

Chun:

It’s like a stage.

Wong:

If it was more theatrical, it’d be better.

6:

That’s right, if the sets were less theatrical and more real, then the film would havea different feeling.

Wong:

Perhaps more absurd.

6:

Maybe like an office. The line about the astronaut is really good.

Wong:

If the first scene were set in a library or somewhere more real, or in a study room
eating paper, have that line about a day having 48 hours be delivered there, the effectwould have been more powerful.

6:

To go back to what we said about being genuine, I think this work has that when
watching it for the second time.

Chun:

That’s right. The filmmaker is not conventional, which should be treasured.

Fan:

The next work is Awakening.

Chun:

Awakening and LIFE / CHESS belong to the same genre. It is technicallycompetent but lacks genuineness.

6:

It is about self-awakening. The first time I saw it, I thought it was good, but thesecond time…Some parts made me feel uneasy, as if the filmmaker was trying too
hard to explain themselves.

Chun:

I feel a bit the same…

Fung:

The ending sequence with Lion Rock is positive and allows the filmmaker to convey
their meanings immediately. But if it was more creative I’d be more inclined to enjoy
it.

6:

If they took away the voiceover, it would look just like a commercial.

Chun:

Maybe because it is a one-minute film, I’d rather that it has an open ending like
LIFE / CHESS. Now the last 30 seconds represents a very positive ending, but you
know things are not so simple. It is just a slogan. If the film is about confusion, it’dbe better of it just focused on being confused for one minute.

Wong:

I think the filmmaker’s attitude towards life should be appreciated. In the YouthCategory, many works talk about dreams, and that’s it, but this filmmaker does notstop there, but goes further. In an environment that does not value art, what does it
7mean? It’s saying that one should not just hope for praise just to satisfy one’s ego,
which I think is laudable. The storytelling is not outstanding, but the camera
technique is good.
Choi:

I remember when looking at these one-minute works in the first round, most of theworks were rough around the edges, while LIFE / CHESS and Awakening are more
technically accomplished. They look like commercials, and perhaps a bit too much
like commercials, and lack creativity.

Chun:

I understand where they are coming from. Making something in one minute, it ishard to go very deep. Do they work as a team or individually?

Wong:

Individually.

Choi:

They work as a team when they film.

Chun:

But the creative and conceptual parts were done individually.

Fan:

The last one is RED.

Wong:

It is adapted from a novel. Have you read this novel or know anything about it?

6:

Where was it published?

Choi:

Did he write it himself?

6:

Yes, did he write the novel himself?

Chun:

I guess so.

Fan:Yes, he did.

Chun:

So, he first wrote the text.

6:

Impressive.

Fung:

He created both works.

Wong:

Maybe the text is more interesting. It has some good ideas, but in terms ofexecution…

6:

It’s a bit chaotic.

Wong:

In terms of execution there is something lacking, or perhaps not focused enough. If
the filmmaker wants to create a world in which the school is a purgatory within adrama film context, then he needs higher skill levels, like with the teachers’
characterizations. The worst aspect is the visual effects such as changing colors and8squirting blood. I have seen works of similar themes that are much more rigorousand refined, and this film has not reached that level.
6:

The most memorable part is, at the end when he confronts the guy on the rooftop,
who wants to kill the main character. That line of dialogue is touching. But things
could be tightened up, like with the police body search, which reveals that characterto be a lower-class person. However, we don’t find out until the end. This could
have been tightened up. He has 18 minutes to tell the story.

Choi:

The director is very ambitious but lacks skills. If he paid more attention to details,
the work could be more complete.

Wong:

Some scenes are abstract, and if the director dares to go further, he could have done
without some lines of dialogue. The part about money at the end and throwing themoney away could have been communicated with imagery instead. He could havespent more effort on the costumes of the characters like the police and the lowerclass people, which would have made the film stronger. Several years ago there wasa work called Goat, which was in Fresh Wave and ifva.

Chun:

Yes.

Wong:

That film has the same theme but it has no dialogue, and the effect is chilling. (Wongadded later that the film actually has dialogue, but not normal dialogue ormonologue.)

Chun:

But the language is different. I have the opposite idea. This director is ambitious and
I understand what he is trying to do. Of course, some elements are successful andsome are not, but compared with other films, he may not have more resources, but
his ambitions are greater, and the resources at his disposal is not in line with his
ambitions. I appreciate his ambitions. Under the circumstance, he still wanted to do
many things, and some aspects turned out to be successful, so I appreciate his efforts.

Fung:

Let’s not talk about the production first but focus on the concept. He wants to talkabout police and exam pressures, which seem like external pressure and oppression,
but gradually he reveals that they have more to do with internal pressure. I think if
it were a novel, it would be very powerful. His ideas are good but the execution is
not good enough.

Chun:

I find one of the lines of dialogue memorable. The main character is assigned to bea high-class person and enters a dark room. He asks the teacher, “Is this success?
I’ve got good exam results but my hands are bloodied.” Perhaps because I seldom
communicate with people from this age group, maybe they really think that theirhands will be bloodied if they get good exam results. “I get more social resourcesfrom exploiting others and getting a quota.” To a certain extent, this is a profoundpoint of view. Those who survive after a fight is already guilty. For me, this is arevolutionary perspective, although I am not sure if it is very widespread, and if
people their age think like that.

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Wong:The dialogue is strong.

Fung:

When he realizes what’s going on, he suppresses others from having the same
realization that the system is wrong. This sort of criticism of the system is good forsomeone his age.

Chun:

His thought is “having advantage in this selection system, should not being equaling
to having the right to live in better way than those unselected”. Having such thoughtin this age group is nice.

Fan:

Having discussed all 10 works, do you have anything to add? Do you have works
you want to nominate for awards?

Chun:

I think we all like Hokkien Dialect.

All:Uh-huh.

Chun:

Or shall we discuss them one by one?

Wong:

The English title of this film is RED.

Choi:

It explains here that he wants to include images of red things in the film; it’s a story
about red.

6:

Yes, the last or second-to-last line.

Chun:

If we were to rank the works, shall we recognize independent spirit in first place?

Fan:This is what ifva wants to recognize as a whole, and we hope to place it in first place.
But how we interpret independent spirit is up to the jurors.

Chun:ifva and independent spirit should be closely tied. But in the Youth Category, I thinkthat we should aim to be more encouraging, and so would rather give an award to awork worthy of encouragement than one that is complete and technically competent.
I would consider a director’s personal qualities and potential, and hope that they willcontinue on this road and keep on creating works.

Fung:So, should we pay less attention to whether the cinematography is good? I agree with
Chun in that at this stage, we should not pay as much attention to camera techniqueor whether the shots are beautiful. I think concepts are more important than technique.

Chun:

That is why I appreciate RED, and I like the gap between the resources at his disposal
and his ambitions. Honestly, he didn’t achieve what he set out to do, but at least hetried, which I appreciate. A film like Hokkien Dialect is genuine and is about
everyday life. I would like to see if he is able to keep this sense of genuineness once
he departs from his own world. So, encouraging these two works represents two
different directions. If we give an award to RED, its director will keep on creating.

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I like the gap because the director was not able to achieve what he wanted but went
ahead anyway. I appreciate that.
Choi:

This is the Youth Category, and youths should be ambitious and aim higher.

Chun:

His ambitions are higher than his abilities. Mom strikes a balance between the two.

6:

If we go on that direction, how about The Number You Have Tried to Reach is Now
Busy? Is there also not a gap between what they want to do and what they achieved?

Chun:

I am not sure what they want to do, but that kind of discrepancy is unique. Is thisalready what they set out to do? I am not sure. But the work has its merits.

6:

I think The Number You Have Tried to Reach is Now Busy, RED, and Mom are
similar kinds of works? Can we tell if their directors will keep on creating? I am justmaking a comparison between the three.

Chun:

RED and The Number You Have Tried to Reach is Now Busy are both conceptual.

Fung:

If considering the concept, Mom is good in that it talks about a busy working-classfamily. The director has a concept about society despite her young age and will likely
incorporate that into her future works.

Chun:

That’s right. I can sense the director’s concern for society. My top choices are
Hokkien Dialect, RED and Mom.

Fung:

My top choices are Hokkien Dialect, Mom, RED and The Number You Have Tried
to Reach is Now Busy.

6:

Me too.

Choi:

But we have to further consider which awards to give them. I can see the efforts thatwent into creating these four works, and I appreciate the absurdist nature of The
Number You Have Tried to Reach is Now Busy, even if the execution is not perfect.
I appreciate the director’s creative thoughts and subversive nature.

Chun:

What about Sau Ping?

Wong:

I have narrowed it down to Hokkien Dialect and RED, but am leaning towards RED.
I think all 10 finalists this year are of high standards, but there are no outstanding
works.

Fan:

It seems clear that you are nominating RED for Gold Award? Does anyone else haveother ideas?

Wong:

I have no problems with giving it the Gold Award, but compared to past winners,
RED has many flaws, so it is a bit embarrassing to let a flawed work win Gold.

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Chun:

I would rather give it Silver.

Wong:

Hokkien Dialect is very complete, but the film is not very powerful. It seems
complete because it is very casual.

Chun:

That sounds philosophical.

Wong:

It is genuine and so the work is enjoyable.

Choi:

I remember I spoke with the film’s director. She was very casual in her approach,and only thought about editing half way through filming. That is why the film looks
genuine. It may be an experiment or a piece of homework.

Fung:

Of course, being casual is one approach, but if she wants to be a director, she needs
to consider more aspects and will not take this approach.

Wong:

That’s why we have to decide what we are encouraging, casualness or
professionalism. If we encourage the former, she may make more casual films rather
than films that enable her to enter the industry.

Chun:

The underlying issue is what kinds of creators and works we want to encourage.

Choi:

Given a choice, I would pick RED because the director tries to make a complete
work that reflects his thoughts, and even though the work is flawed, his ideas areclearly laid out in the script. I favor RED, but whether to give it Gold or Silver should
be discussed.

Chun:

In comparison, you are less in favor of Mom, right?

Wong:

For me, yes.

Fung:

I quite like it because I can identify with it, since my daughter is in Canada. Thisfeeling is shared by many Hong Kongers. The mother cares about her, but they lack
communication. In a place like Hong Kong, this problem is very specific to oursituation, and so I identified with the film.

Chun:

On the whole, comparing Mom with Hokkien Dialect, the former is less touching,
but as a filmmaker, she has potential and strikes a balance between technique andgenuineness.

Wong:

I agree.

Chun:

It may not be a good work, but she has potential.

Wong:

The film breaks through certain conventions.

Chun:

But her approach is not completely casual, nor does the director design certain scenes.
It is not entirely casual, so I think it is worth encouraging.
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Wong:The director’s efforts are worth encouraging. She does not aim for good-looking
shots but shows you the essence of a scene. She has thought about how best topresent things.

Chun:

If she continues on this path, she will become a director who knows about drama. If
we are to encourage a creator’s intentions, I would give Mom the Gold Award, even
if it is not the best work.

Fung:

I like the line in Mom that says “Hong Kong is hopeless”, which reflects the feelingsof Hong Kong youths. Most young people think that Hong Kong is hopeless. The
director does not just express this point of view in a superficial way and reflects themood of Hong Kong youths.

Choi:

The director placed many elements in this work to convey its meaning, and thetransitions are well thought-out, expressing thinking and decisions about her own
future. Few young people phone their parents all the time, usually it is the other way
around. In the end, it is young people want to communicate with the mother. On thewhole, RED has more flaws, while Mom is more complete in terms of its message
and cinematography. Judging from its message, I do not oppose this film getting
Gold. What do you think?

Fan:

Now Mom is nominated for Gold. Andrew Choi’s previous nomination for Gold isRED, but now he does not opposed Mom getting Gold. We also mentioned Hokkien
Dialect, but nobody clearly nominated it for Gold. The Number You Have Tried toReach is Now Busy has also been mentioned. Under the circumstance, does anyone
oppose Mom getting Gold, or are there other nominations?

Chun:

I agree with Sau Ping that RED has flaws, but what is his nomination for Gold?

Choi:

What do you think of Mom?

Wong:

Mom also has many flaws, no less so than RED. I don’t have a ranking, for me it ishard to decide between the three works.

Chun:

We should discuss their flaws. Mom is more cinematic than Hokkien Dialect andRED, and by that, I mean the director has messages she wants to convey, eventhough it does not come across clearly. RED communicates its message with
dialogue, and so does Hokkien Dialect, although it is more genuine and worth
treasuring. Mom uses images to convey messages rather than dialogue, which thedirector is conscious of doing. Many short films on the web are not cinematic not
because they are not beautifully shot, but because they so not use images to tell theirstories. Mom tries to do that, and even though it has flaws, it is my pick. Being
cinematic is about being creative, and ifva should not judge films according to
mainstream or narrative film standards.

Wong:

I agree. This type of style is rare in ifva in recent years. Mom is weak towards the
middle. The situation and image with granny, mom and the daughter are not good.
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All:

That’s right.

Wong:

The story is a bit confusing.

Fung:

Yes, it is confusing, I had to think about before I understood.

Wong:

Sometimes we can omit the Gold.

Chun:

You should know more about that. If we omit the Gold Award…

Fan:

Sometimes we omit the Gold and give out two Silver awards if two works are about
the same level, yet they do not deserve Gold. We have had this situation many times
before. Sometimes we omit Gold and give out one Silver.

Chun:

Can we omit Gold and give out three Silvers? This is just a thought, maybe it’s outof left field.

Fan:

If this is what is needed, then we will deal with it, but we have never had three Silvers.
What will the directors think when they get one-third of an award?

Fung:

This is the Youth Category, we should try to encourage them. This is not the Grand
Prize, it does not need to be a masterpiece.

Choi:

I hope we can have both Gold and Silver. But we need to come to a consensus.

Wong:

Last year the jurors all agreed to omit Gold because the quality was not high, and we
could not even pick 10 finalists. I am concerned that the 10 works are distinctive intheir own ways and are powerful works, so omitting Gold does not reflect thesituation this year. But if you ask me whether any works excited me and made me
want to give it Gold, there is not. Sometimes a Gold Award winner can have flaws,
but it can be over-shadowed by the excitement it brings to viewers. This year nowork had been able to achieve that. It is up to you. If it comes down to a vote, I will
abstain.

Fan:

Let’s vote whether we want to have Gold Award, or we can vote for a slate of films.

Choi:

Have we tried to settle by voting before, or shall we discuss?

Fan:

The discussions we are having now is reasonable and normal.

Chun:

Yes, from what I read in previous transcripts, this is normal.

Fan:

We can discuss whether we want to have Gold Award, then vote on it. Sometimes
jurors end up overturning the vote. It is up to you to decide whether you want toencourage the filmmakers or choose good quality works. The standards differ fromyear to year.

14Chun:

I lean towards giving out Gold. I would rather encourage young people than protect
ifva standards and goals.

Fung:

I agree.

Chun:

Especially since this is Youth Category. It’d be different if this was Open Category.

Fung:

It is important to offer encouragement.

Choi:

I opt for giving Gold.

Wong:

Does giving out Gold encourage them?

Chun:

That is our hope.

Wong:

Encouragement based on Gold Award.

Fan:

It’s strange because when we omitted Gold last year, many Youth Category entrants
were self-reflective, and when they got up on stage, they reflected why they madethese films when given the opportunity. It was interesting. When Kit Hung went on
stage to give his views on last year’s entries, he talked about why people chose these
topics. So, this could be seen as encouragement.

6:

Is this encouragement based on the reverse psychology of omitting Gold Award?

Chun:

You encourage them to enter in this competition but not give them awards.

Fan:

They feel like they are being scolded.

Wong:

Giving Silver is a kind of encouragement, too. We are giving out awards, just not
the Gold Award. Many young people nowadays are cool. Last year, an entrant who
did not get any awards texted me afterwards to thank me for not giving them anaward because they thought they didn’t deserve it. They agreed that there should not
be Gold Awards.

Chun:

This type of thinking is commendable.

Fan:

It’s not that we cannot have three Silver, but we don’t encourage it. Many years ago,
we had two Golds. The two works, which were both excellent, differed greatly instyle and message, so they could not be compared. In the end we gave both the Gold
Award.

Wong:

Having two Golds is encouraging.

Choi:

Yes.

Fan:

That was many years ago.

15

Wong:

Was it the year with Grass is Green by the River and I was 17 in 1997? I was partof the audience then.

Chun:

I agree with omitting Gold and giving two Silver. That is reasonable.

6:

Based on the current situation.

Chun:

I agree, I don’t think any one work is outstanding or that I like very much. I wanted
to be encouraging, but Sau Ping is right. Giving awards but letting them know they
have not reached the standard of Gold is also a kind of encouragement. I had notthought of that before.

Choi:

Had there been many occasions when you omitted Gold?

Fan:

Once every few years, and not necessarily in the Youth Category. I can’t remember
exactly.

Chun:

How about if we omitted Gold and give Silver to RED and Mom? Then Hokkien
Dialect will be Special Mention. Or would you rather award Hokkien Dialect?

Wong:

Did all three jurors in the first-round pick RED?

Choi:

I think so.

6:

In the end I voted for it, too.

Choi:

I remember only one work was unanimous.

6:

I think it was Hokkien Dialect.

Fan:

An Exam Result Decides My Fate? was unanimous.

Choi:

Hokkien Dialect was not unanimous, nor was Mom. I am not sure, but that’s what I
recall.

Chun:

Do you have other suggestions?

Choi:

If you want to omit Gold and choose between RED and Mom? Do we all agree withthis arrangement and choose between the two?

Chun:

Maybe we can vote on whether we want to omit Gold.

Choi:

That means we omit Gold and give two Silver, that what we have to decide.

Fan:

In Youth Category we often vote on slates.

Fung:

What does that mean?
16

Fan:

If we have two Silvers, then it has to be a certain combination of two films.

Fung:That’s complicated.

Chun:

Shall we vote whether we want to have Gold Award? Once we decide that, it
influences which films we award.

Fung:

I agree with having Gold Award. Even though the works may not be of highstandards, we should encourage the filmmakers.

Choi:

I lean towards having Gold Award after thinking hard about this.

Wong:

I want to omit it because I know a lot about ifva history. Maybe this is my prejudice.

Chun:

Are you saying you have been referencing past editions?

Wong:

Yes.

Chun:

This is important.

Wong:

Rather than voting for whether there is Gold, I have another suggestion that you may
find helpful. We can each pick four or five, and rank them, and see which film getschosen as number one by the most people and rank the films accordingly. Perhaps
two films will get the same marks, and then we can decide whether it is two Goldsor two Silvers.

6:

This sounds like what we did last time.

Choi:

So, we vote.

Wong:

Yes, we vote and then choose Gold or Silver.

Fan:This is a vote to decide ranking so we know which films you favor. Perhaps yourranking will be different, and we can then discuss.

Wong:

It is hard to rank Mom and RED.

Choi:

Do we choose five among the ten, or do we decide on which five and then rank them?

Fan:

It seems that we have a consensus that Hokkien Dialect, Mom, RED and The
Number You Have Tried to Reach is Now Busy are the contenders. There are notfive but four. You can add another one of your own choice.

Chun:

The best one gets 5 points?

Fan:

The one with the most points is number 1.

17

Choi:

We can choose the fifth one ourselves?

Fan:

Or you can just rank among the four.

Chun:

Can we give the same marks to two different work?

Fan:

No. 5 points for the top one, 4 points for the second, 3 points for the third, 2 points
for the fourth and 1 point for the fifth. For the fifth work you can choose any work.

(The jurors vote and points are calculated.)
Choi:Gold Award is Mom and Silver is RED?

6:

There are two Special Mentions?

Fan:

Three.

Wong:

So, we are not going for two Silvers?

Fung:

No, because there is a clear difference in marks.

Chun:

The two works have very different marks.

Wong:

Perhaps one Silver and one Special Mention?

6:

We can discuss now, but from our votes, I feel that we should have a Gold Award.

Wong:

What about your expectations? Are the present results different from your initialthoughts?

6:

Because entrants are under the age of 18, I tend to be accepting of their flaws.

Wong:

So, shall we vote now?

Chun:

I guess no one would consider two Gold Awards?

Fung:

Logically, yes.

Wong:

Even without a vote, I would not disagree with that.

Fan:

So Gold Award goes to Mom.

All:

Okay, we don’t object.

Fan:

Silver Award goes to RED.

All:

Yes.

18

Fan:

Special Mention goes to Hokkien Dialect and The Number You Have Tried toReach is Now Busy. Do you have any ideas for the fifth one?

Chun:

Honestly speaking, because there is a great variance in the marks for the other films,
I can accept of there are just two Special Mentions.

Choi:

We focused on giving marks to the first four, while not everyone had a fifth choice.
I suggest giving another one to An Exam Result Decides My Fate?

Wong:

Sure.

Choi:

Even though this one-minute work is rough around the edges, but some people liked
it.

Wong:

I have met the director. He is a distinctive individual who is polite and knowing. He
is mature and does not look like someone who made this film. In the future, we may
see other works from him.

Chun:

So let’s give Special Mention to An Exam Result Decides My Fate?

All:

Agree.

Youth Category Award Winners
Gold Award
Mom
Tiffany Ng

Silver AwardRED
Yiu King-hei

Special Mention
The Number You Have Tried to Reach is Now Busy
Lam Cheuk-him

19

Hokkien Dialect
O Lam-lam

An Exam Result Decides My Fate?
Tsang Kin-wong20