28th ifva Youth Category Jury Meeting Transcript
Jury Members ： Hanna Chan (Hanna), Chan Kin-long (Chan), Jill Li (Li), Adam Wong
(Wong), Kenji Wong (Kenji)
Organizer representative： Kattie Fan (Fan), Sandy Lai, Anson Yip, Vanessa Ying

Fan:

Today, our goal is to select the Gold, Silver award winners and 3 Special Mentions
among the finalist works. You can share your views on each of the works first andthen nominate awards later.

Wong:

Before we start, I would like to know about the overall quality of this year's works.

Li:

There are a few works that are relatively well-produced, and most of them became
finalists. The degree of completion of the work is also an important criterion in thefirst-round selection. At the same time, works with outstanding features, such as
unique and exciting angles, or can reflect the current situation, were also
shortlisted.

Wong:

In terms of themes, do most of the works use the pursuit of dreams, communities,
and the pandemics as themes?

Li:

A high proportion of works have the pursuit of dreams and teenage love as their
themes, and some have several subjects as their themes. There are several works
related to the pandemic.

Fan:

You can start discussing the first work, True Lights.

Wong:

Even though it is well-produced, proper, and able to encourage schools to play aleading role in promoting film productions, the work still lacks the youthfulatmosphere of a school campus, and the use of music is not satisfactory. It does notprovide a real sense of teenagers on campus and appears old-fashioned. But its
storyboarding, mise-en-scene and crowd scenes look professional. This theme
should be life-like and touching, but the work can't express it at all.

Chan:

As Sau Ping (Wong) said, some of the shots in the film ae well thought out andfilmmakers are able to execute the film well, but the plot unfolds too quickly, andmany events just come and go without much elaboration. It’s difficult to get into
the story and understand the relationship between the characters. The girls want toreconcile because of the singing competition, but the plot suddenly skips forward
without enough explanation. For me, this is the biggest flaw of the work. The
incompleteness of the film made me feel regretful. In addition, I think there is ateacher behind the work. I want to know whether the teacher gave them a lot of
help. For example, some of the camera movements may not be the students’ idea,
and it looks like someone who has experience in film production taught them, so it
made me doubtful.

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Hanna:It doesn’t feel like they are really students in school, and the dialogue is also a bit
awkward, deliberately spelling out the message of the film. I can't feel thefriendship between the girls. They are supposed to be very good friends, but thefilm doesn’t show that. These friends are going to be parting soon, and the idea thatthey all need to complete one thing together before they leave is not complete.
Perhaps it has something to do with the director's handling. Sometimes the actors
look away, which alienates me from the story. I don't expect that every film has tobe complete in terms of production, but the characters in this film fail to convince
me that they are about to part and feel sad about this.

Kenji:

This work was better than many others in the first round, but my feeling is that it isvery average, and Sau Ping (Wong) describes the film as overly mature. The work
borrows a lot from other films, and the story does not have to be too elaborate
because you can sense where the film is going from those borrowed elements, suchas the way people feel sad when their friends leave. During the first round, I also
wondered about the teacher's involvement. I believe that every entry has a certain
degree of guidance from teachers, but with this film it is very obvious.

Wong:

The evidence of guidance is very strong, and the works lacks youthful vitality.

Kenji:

Yes, there is no experimentation.

Li:

Also, I wouldn’t say I like its music. However, I gave extra points for its
storyboarding. Even though it is not good enough, at least some ideas are behind it.
In the first round, there were some other works about schools, and the presentation
are even more unnatural than this one. As Hanna said, the actors often look away,
which is even more evident on the big screen.

Hanna:

However, since the actors are secondary school students, I am not sure whether weshould use this as the judging criteria.

Chan:

It is difficult to evaluate performances, because the actors are only 17 years old. It
is difficult to demand that they have the qualities of professional actors, so it
depends on how we draw the line. For example, other finalist works have larger
scale and higher quality, and their acting are also deliberate and overly earnest. If
we judge these works on the acting, what standards do we apply for Youthcategory works?

Li:

If we compare this work with the last one, the latter is more natural andcomfortable. I also have a question. When the production scale becomes more
extensive, there are more things for the filmmakers to deal with, and it is morechallenging for them to handle everything. Is this a factor we need to consider?

Wong:

I will look at the spirit of the work. Even if the production scale is large and there
are many flaws with the production, if the filmmakers are trying new things andare reflecting on issues in a sincere way, the work can still be moving. Like thefinal work (THOSE DAYS), the performances are not necessarily brilliant, but it is2

enjoyable. With True Lights, I admired the first ten seconds, like the use of wide
angle, the costumes, acting performances, plot progression and conflicts, etc., but
as the film progressed, these functional techniques were the same. In fact, thesetechniques can be applied to any subject matter because they are quite formulaic.
Chan:

This work is not just formulaic, but also not complete enough.

Kenji:

I suggest that we discuss the final work here, since everyone mentioned it.

Wong:

I think the work that contrasts the most with True Lights is Rewind, which can also
be discussed together with THOSE DAYS. In addition, through True Lights, we can
explore what role schools should play in encouraging artistic creation. Should
schools give students the freedom to try things out?

Fan:

Why don't we discuss Rewind and THOSE DAYS first?

Wong:

I like Rewind very much. It is very youthful, and there are several episodes that are
surprising. At first, I thought the work was just a youthful one, but when thecharacter opens the box and finds the camera, and says "You are my firstprotagonist", I was touched. When the film switches back to the curly-haired
character at home, the details such as his innocent appearance, the pimples on his
face, and the can of Tsingtao beer are well thought-out and sincere. After that, theprotagonist goes out to buy alcohol, and when he returns home, you see a bag of
potato chips in the foreground, and all these elements have a youthful energy. I
also like the ending very much, there is no need to say more. The strange thing is,when I look at most of the films made by students from the sixth form touniversity, they always imagine that when they become adults they would change
as they enter society. I wondered where they got this idea from, at least I never had
this idea when I was young. However, the handling of the work is very real. Whenthe protagonist meets his friend again at the end, leaving aside the clichéd plot, thefeeling is sincere. Maybe it's my own wishful thinking, I think work is authentic.
The characters’ experiences are related to the events in Hong Kong. The girl indark clothes and pants is filming exasperatedly, and then meets her friend withglasses. These simple images are impressive. The character with glasses becomes asuit-wearing adult, but his helplessness touched me quite a bit. Even though the
girl's attitude and movements are a bit formulaic, there is still a sense of reality. I
believe Anno Hideaki will also be happy to see that he has such an influence. The
font type at the end of the credits is obviously an homage to him, and so is anotherwork, Libra.

Hanna:

Both are directed by the same person, Sung Ting-hin.

Wong:

The way he filmed Kwai Shing West Estate is quite distinctive. When I first readthe synopsis, I thought he would show details about this area, but I realized thesedetails about old housing estate naturally come out without him doing anything
deliberate.

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Li:

I don't like the soundtrack very much, some parts don’t need to have music, but
overall, it is better than True Lights.

Wong and Hanna:

I agree.

Chan:

I don't like the ending very much, even though it seems logical enough, it does notbring about new perspectives, and it is the same as films in the past. For me, thiswork is among the top three. The first half is good, but unfortunately the ending
turns weak, and some images are unnecessary.

Wong:

In terms of music, I think it is a bit too much, but the filmmakers deliberately
refrain from using music in the second half, so I forgive it a little.

Hanna:

I also like the beginning of the film, it makes me feel the youthful sincerity of thegirls, with them picking up the camera to take pictures. I also like the treatment of
the heroine. The theme of the work is pursuing one’s dreams, but it is revealed
through the ordinary life struggles of the characters. I don't really like the dialogue
at the end, but it is also the scene in which the heroine plainly reveals that she isstill doing filming work. I gave extra points for that.

Chan:

There is a poster of May You Stay Forever Young in the scene in the white house. I
could immediately guess the direction of the story when I saw it. Therefore, theblack costumes in the later part are all in response to certain scenes in the first half.

Kenji:

The final shot also expresses this point.

Li:"Don't forget your original intentions."

Kenji:Is it a common technique to add titles at the end of a film?

Wong:

I can accept its use here. Perhaps it is understandable for everyone to integrate thestyle of Neon Genesis Evangelion into the lives of young people. In addition, thedirector prints the script with a printing machine. The title of the script is "Almost
900 days" which refers to things within and outside the film. At the same time, it isa clever way to tell the audience that many years have passed by using the printing
machine.

Li:

Originally, I really liked Rewind. In addition to encouraging everyone to persevere,
it is also the theme of friendship and will not be too single. However, the dialogue
between the male and female characters at the end part reverts to cliché.

Wong:

I thought the ending would be even more conventional, but it's not. Norris Wong(first round jury) wrote that "the dialogue could be shortened", but according to my
impression, the ending of the work is quite subtle already, so everyone’s perception
may be different.

Fan:

The next one is THOSE DAYS.

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Chan:

Its production is relatively unrefined, but the purity and directness of the work israre among all the finalists. Although the beginning is somewhat rough, I still
slowly got into the story, and the overall impression was favourable. In addition to
the pandemic, the film also touches on homosexual relationships, and explores therelationship between teachers and students in a layered and humorous way.
Although the actors' performance is not to my taste, I did not mind it after the firstscene. The serious-sounding voice-over is unexpectedly appropriate. In terms ofhonesty, I rank this work number one.

Kenji:The use of metaphors is not bad, for example, the one about the hand sanitizer isvery powerful. I also quite like the character of Chan Sir.

Wong:

He is humorous. The plot is great, and can even become a feature film.

Hanna:

I also thought the same. After watching all the entries, I like THOSE DAYS the
best. It's the sincerest, and the setting is believable. Putting aside the production
quality, the two actors interact naturally in the scenes rather than just reading lines.
I love the film’s rawness and the Zoom scene. This work highlights the character's
personality through its story. For example, when the mother meets the teacher, theboy turns off his own camera, which reflects the way secondary school students act
nowadays. In addition, the work conveys the sense of the current situation in Hong
Kong and the problems that cross-border student experience. It is a story thatreflects Hong Kong at present. I'm not a big fan of adding titles and voice-overs,
but the way it is done here is acceptable. The voice-over is very interesting.

Chan:

For a student film, even though nowadays, LGBTQ has become a common theme
and people are accustomed to it, it is good that this film is willing to explore thistheme. The same-sex relationship makes it not just another pandemic film, and it iscommendable for young people under the age of 17 to explore such a concept. Of
course, there are flaws with its production.

Kenji:

The ambiguity between the characters is to the point, and through the presentationof different details, you can feel the subtle relationship between them.

Wong:

THOSE DAYS is a pleasant surprise so far.

Li:

Although many scenes in the film deal with the whole plot with one fixed shot
simply, the work is realistic enough, and the plot development is unexpectedenough, which gives it extra points.

Kenji:

Just now I mentioned that THOSE DAYS can be compared with True Lights. In one
scene, the protagonist returns to school to see his classmates. Their reactions arevery natural, as if they feel that everyone is a true friend.

Wong:

Although this work is very real and full of emotions, it does not mean that weshould ignore its flaws. The actors sometimes forgot their lines or appear out ofcharacter, or they got a classmate to play the role of the mother. Also, the scene
where everyone immediately agrees that the protagonist should stay at the teacher's
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house, etc. These are all flaws in the work. The unrestrained emotions of the film
successfully diverted our attention, but these flaws still exist.
Fan:

The next work is Dream to the Sky.

Li:

Dream to the Sky and Bravocado Oliventure are both animations, and there were
three or four other animations in the first-round selection.

Chan:

Can you tell me why of these two films became finalists?

Li:

Most animation works use stop motion, but Dream to the Sky has the mostabundant materials. And it shows more female consciousness, the only one
displayed clearly among the entries. However, watching Dream to the Sky again
this time, I don't like how it uses flashback to bring back the past.

Chan:

Although it is difficult to compare animation with the narrative works we justdiscussed, I like the visuals and imageries of the character in the latter part ofDream to the Sky who wants to fly out and become a pilot. The beginning partmakes it easy to guess where the story is going. I also want to discuss with you thecriteria for judging animations, and I feel that there should be some common
standards when comparing them with narrative films.

Kenji:

Should we discuss Dream to the Sky and Bravocado Oliventure together?

Wong:

I quite appreciate the materials used in the production of Dream to the Sky. The
technique of stop motion is not common among secondary school students. The
creators made a large-scale production and used things like cotton to make up thesky. It took a lot of thought and is worth encouraging. If you want to evaluate it indetail, a hand got into the frame within one scene, which destroys the effect of stop
motion. With the titles, it could have used stop motion techniques rather thandirectly keying them into the frame.

Li:

About the cut hair, in the film, the girl cuts off her hair to break the stereotype of
women and then uses it as an escape tool, but it doesn't come into use in the end,
which is puzzling to me.

Hanna:

I also have the same question.

Chan:

Compared with the other animation, I prefer the latter. However, from a production
point of view, the picture resolution of Bravocado Oliventure is too low. I find it
interesting that the directors use objects to symbolize jealousy or the relationshipbetween people. For example, in the end, the characters all become pizza, which ishumorous. The ending recalls the beginning, and this approach is superior toDream to the Sky, but the production quality gives me pause and some scenes are
too blurry.

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Li:

Bravocado Oliventure combines real-world objects and animations. Although it isa low-cost production, it has its style. Compared with all the other animation
works, the production of Dream to the Sky is indeed better.

Wong:

Bravocado Oliventure makes a new experimentation, which is to use real objects
but specially paints them with colours to present an oil painting-like animation. It
is also commendable for students to make such an experiment. However, doing
such a difficult production makes the overall work appear rough and confusing at
the same time, and I can't get too much meaning from it.

Chan:

I think it's more original than Dream to the Sky, which is based on and adaptedfrom fairy tales. Bravocado Oliventure is more original.

Wong:

I agree.

Li:

Does recreating with real-world objects save production time?

Hanna:

Compared with Dream to the Sky, it does. For example, animating the hand
movements of the characters in Dream to the Sky would take more time. At first, I
thought the expressions of the characters were a bit unchanging, but there werevariations in the middle. The audience needs to rely on the changes in expressions
to understand the story, and the creators made an effort in this regard. However,this does not mean that the production of Bravocado Oliventure took less time.

Li:

It is similar to the criteria we used in discussing True Lights, Rewind and THOSE
DAYS, which emphasizes the originality or completeness of production. When I
said that Bravocado Oliventure took less time, I meant that this work successfully
solved the problem of low-cost with creativity and style.

Wong:

Both works are stop motion, so the time they spent on it should be similar. It's justthat Bravocado Oliventure uses oil painting to decorate the props to give thevisuals an oil painting-like texture.

Li:

Bravocado Oliventure uses real-world objects, so some parts don't need to be madefrom scratch. Does it save more time?

Kenji:

Even so, it is more imaginative, taking real objects to another level, such as withthe microwave oven.

Chan:

That’s why it is more superior in terms of creativity.

Kenji:The end credits of the works are great, many of the people involved were Form 1
students.

Fan:

The next work is Libra.

Chan:

When I first started watching Libra, I felt that its shooting techniques were matureand stylish, but after the middle part, I felt that it was too show-off and greedy, and7

it doesn’t know when to stop. The sound mixing and editing are also better thanother works. In addition, the theme of the work is a bit lost. At the beginning, ittalks about why the creator likes painting, and by the end, it turns into a discussion
about values, the emotions and changes are not well-handled and becomes selfindulgent. The technical quality of the work is high, but the narrative and creativity
are relatively average.
Wong:

Hanna:

Li:

I appreciate his ideas and motivations. He uses this work to express an abstract
theme - what is art. Is the purpose of art simply to satisfy the creator or for theappreciation of others, and he uses this idea to interrogate himself in depth. Just
now Long (Chan) said that the work is self-indulgent, but in fact the creator isconsciously exploring this issue. However, due to the use of too much material, it
seems overly self-obsessed. Certain parts of the work are strong, such as the line "I
like painting myself", which touched me quite a bit. A painter who likes his
creative self is a form of self-reflection. He also uses many images, including
peacocks fanning their tails, or single cell organisms to discuss the issue of life. I
tried to grasp the theme of the work, and wondered about the use of scales. At firstI thought that the scale represented the law, then I thought it was balancing ideals
and reality, and then I thought it was expressing the idea of value. But if this is thecase, it doesn't make sense to put the word "you" on the scale at the end, and thetitle of the film is Libra, so I can't quite understand the meaning. In addition, I
really don't like the film's use of film texture, and perhaps confusing VHS and film,
equating the two with a retro style.
Libra feels the most mature in all aspects. It raises a lot of questions at the
beginning, but after that, the creator just states his own values and worldview,supplemented by visuals. This is not my preferred style. The creator takes on
multiple roles on his own, which is amazing at this age. The film is a bit lengthy
and repetitive in the later half, and the struggles of the adult self is very similar tothat of his school days, and there are no changes, which is a pity.
At first, I thought the film's expression was overexertion, and at the same time it
had a stereotyped perception of the future. However, the creator's description
stated, "This work contains the principles I have learned in my 17 years of life, amicrocosm of setbacks and growth." Then I felt the same lineage as his work.
When the creator tries to be himself, I will add more points. After re-watching thework today, I faintly feel that the scales have two reversals. When the protagonist
is young, the scales is used to calculate whether he should pursue his dream. Whenhe grows up and is realizes his vision, the scales switch to measure the proportion
that reality should have.

.
Chan:

If the creator wanted to express the conflict between reality and art, I couldn't
understand why he uses abstract and unreal spaces. The film depicts images andideas, which are related to his imagination. Within this setting, the story jumps
back to reality at the end, requiring the audience to make the necessary
associations, and I was unable to grasp the theme. The protagonist walks to thepainting, looks at the scales, and there is the "you" on the scales. This makes me
confused about the fragments that appeared before. Does it represent his
8imagination, memory, or something else? On the whole, the work still represents agood and new attempt.
Li:

Since the work adopts a conceptual approach, I expected him to use his
imagination more.

Kenji:

I quite like the flashback part. The structure of the story attracts me to keep
watching and see if it changes, but I agree with what everyone said that the work
just goes in circles. Even though the structure of the work is unique, the story lacks
surprises. Of course, it is really amazing for the filmmaker to shoot such a work at
the age of seventeen.

Wong:

The monologue is also influenced by Evangelion. Despite its other flaws, I still
liked the scene where the senior reaches out to support the protagonist by drawing
with him, and then lets go of her hand after a while. The scene feels very heartwarming. The actors’ performances of the actors are not bad, especially the two
teenage actors.

Chan:
Wong:

I prefer the young male lead.
I think the female lead is also distinctive, and her performance is natural. Also, thework puts more effort into sound mixing than other films.

Chan:

Not bad indeed.

Wong:

The separation between left and right channels is done very well.

Hanna:The most impressive scene in the work is when the protagonist keeps saying "I
don't know". In fact, it would have been better for the film to end at that moment.
There are some things in the world that will never have answers. Unfortunately, thestory still goes on, and so I deducted some points from it.

Fan:

The next work is Cupid Rosewood is 14 Years Old.

Chan:

At first, I thought the work was good, with a kind of old American film storytellingstyle, but afterwards, the reciting of poems made me feel tired. Since theperspective of the film comes from the director, I don't know how to evaluate it. I
generally understand the ideas and expression techniques of the work, but I am not
comfortable with the poetry-like handling.

Li:

The storytelling is well-handled and delicate. It does not develop in one direction
but covers a wide area. The queen who appears at the beginning and her unusual
clothes pull the audience into the director's personal fantasy space, and the story
slowly and delicately develops. I also like the ending, which has a girlish youthfulstyle.

Kenji:

I like the fact that the subtitles don’t match with the visuals. Usually, people expectthat subtitles serve the images, but the director uses subtitles to convey extra
information. When she reads the poems aloud, the subtitles have been switched,
9which makes people pay more attention to the images. Perhaps this arrangement ismeant to express the depression of a girl who has experienced various things, but
because of the director's multi-layer treatment, it gives audience more room for
imagination.
Hanna:The rhythm of the film at the beginning is interesting, including the static shots,scenes of daily life, etc. By the middle of the film, I started to think about thedirector's ideas. I think she wants to say that everything that happens in this worldis normal, just like her own life, but there is a trace of sadness after all. Everyone
seems to be living ordinary lives, but the work injects unusual details into thisreality, such as the protagonist's clothes, the popsicle that suddenly melts in thepark, etc., I think the director has certain ideas she wants to convey.

Chan:

Maybe my expectations for this type of film are too high. Since she wants toexpress the idea of detachment, I expected to seeing more bizarre ideas, maybe
with the use of clothing, cinematography, etc., instead of just minor contrasts. In
addition to daily life, I wanted there to be some pleasant surprises to spark people’s
imaginations. I wanted to see more.

Li:

Meanwhile, I give extra points here since she can complete this work alone or witha small team and at a low cost to produce such an effect.
The next one is Recall.

Fan:
Wong:

The work obviously presents two different conflicts. One is a person from thewilderness coming to the city, but he cannot accept the pressures of city life andwould rather die. The plastic bag clothing presents the consciousness of thedirector, but I don’t understand its meaning.

Chan:

After seeing the work and reading the synopsis, I surmise that the girl comes froma free place like a forest, meets an outsider and kills him, but because she is curious
about life in a big city, she changes her clothes and goes to the city. However, shefinds that she cannot adapt to life in the city and faces pressure, and finally decides
to die. I think this kind of works can be done in the form of performance art andpresented dynamically, but Recall is a bit ambiguous and stuck in the middle. The
message about "I would rather die than surrender" that appears at the end should be
the director's own statement, but the work does not seem to adhere to this theme.

Wong:

After reading the artist's description, I can't understand the protagonist's clothes.
Does she wear urban clothes when living in the mountains, or does she have no
choice but to use abandoned materials to make her clothes?

Li:

I need more clarification on why the protagonist is curious about city life. I thought
urban pollution and pressure forced her to come out of the mountains and even killoutsiders. I don't see the need to kill people just because of curiosity. There is adiscrepancy between the concept described in the synopsis and the work itself.

Wong:

In the last scene, a group of indigenous people comes out to mourn, which I can’t
understand.
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Hanna:I also don't quite understand. The only outstanding aspect of the work is therhythm, which matches the music.

Chan:

This kind of work is very difficult to do. The director must have a strong will tocontrol all the details, or use dynamic images and camerawork, such as drone
shots. This is a nice attempt, but some of the treatment is incomprehensible.

Kenji:

I think there is not enough description about the protagonist entering city life.

Chan:

In the scene where the protagonist kills the outsider, there is no narration, so I canonly understand what’s going on from the imagery and visuals, and I can't see theemotions of the two actors, and I think the tension between them is important. No
matter how the creator wants to express his imagery or consciousness, the film
does not use typical narrative methods. If one misses a single edit point, one isunable to get into the work.

Li:

This work can be longer, adding more details will better express its theme.

Wong:

The lack of content in the middle is probably due to the fact that the protagonist isin a dangerous situation. The scene is set in a river. The murder scene is very
awkward. The director wants to shoot intense action, but the prop is poor and thetwo actors are not up to task. As a result, the sub-par performance made visuals
lose effect. That kind of amateurish production makes it difficult for audiences to
get into the film.

Chan:

In fact, it can be dealt with through imagery, such as close-ups of water splashes,
but now it is filmed straight on, and so the whole scene lacks power.

Wong:This is a matter of experience. The director doesn’t know how to shoot killing
scenes, and what to do with space, actors' body movements or even consider thesafety of venue.

Chan:

Compared with many films, I think the work is the most daring At least it is willingto make such an attempt.

Fan:

The next one is overwatch.

Wong:

I appreciate its idea, it wants to explore surveillance cameras. I quite appreciatethat it uses this idea in the form of a thriller. The soundtrack of the film is also very
well-done, but the film language is not so good, especially with scary shots. The
character is scared away even before anything happens. But the idea of the work is
simple and clear.

Chan:

There are some problems with the first part of the film, but I got into it in the latter
part.

Li:

I like the visuals in the third part the most.
11Chan:

I think this work can be shortlisted for awards.

Fan:

The last one is Looming.

Li:

This is also a concept-driven film.

Wong:

The cinematography of the work is very good. The voyeuristic approach, in which
someone sends a text message to the main character, and then the camera cuts to apair of voyeuristic eyes, is used twice in the film and is very successful. The
content is also very simple, and this film could actually be shorter. The ending
recalls the beginning, in which the character who had once harmed others is now
being harmed and gets his just deserts.

Chan:

Regardless of personal preference, I think this film is simple, direct and clear. It
could have been shorter, but it's relatively less ambitious.

Fan:

Now let’s move on to the nominations for the awards. According to the discussion
you have just made, the shortlist should include Rewind, overwatch, THOSE DAYS
and Bravocado Oliventure.

Kenji:

I want to nominate Cupid Rosewood is 14 Years Old.

Li:

I would like to add Looming. Sau Ping (Wong) What do you think of the ten
finalist works in comparison with the previous years?

Wong:

They are all good. In previous years, there were one or two works that wereparticularly outstanding and eye-catching, and I have even used one of them asteaching material. The best ones this year is not up to that level. But on the whole,
the works are full of ideas and brilliance, which is exciting.

Kenji:

Although there are many works that talk about pursuing dreams this year, they are
not just about youthful dreams. Even if the directors may not know how to express
themselves, many people will add titles or meaningful words at the end of the film.
Some of the first-round works are rough, but they are moving nevertheless.

Li:

It is courageous and bold to create such works during this time.

Wong:

Kenji just mentioned adding texts at the end of the films. I used to mind that very
much, but now it doesn’t feel abrupt for Rewind at all. Now that I think about it,maybe it is related to the events that have happened in Hong Kong in recent years.
Using texts to remind everyone has become normal practice. THOSE DAYS uses a
lot of English words, but that part seems a bit redundant.

Li:

Agree. Because it already has a voice-over.

Fan:

We can propose the Gold Award first. Do you have any works to nominate?

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Wong and Chan:

I nominate Rewind.

Kenji:

I choose THOSE DAYS. To be honest, when I first watched this film, I thought ofskipping it because it was too long and rough, but after I finished watching it, I
thought it was really good.

Li:

It depends on what we want to encourage. For example, if Rewind won the Goldaward, it emphasized the production and creative ideas are equally important; if
THOSE DAYS won, the creative ideas are the most important.

Wong:

I think both Dream to the Sky and Libra deserve to be included in the top five.

Chan:

Right now, I think Libra deserves Special Mention.

Kenji:

I feel that Cupid Rosewood is 14 Years Old needs to be considered one of the five.

Li:

Cupid Rosewood is 14 Years Old is somewhat similar to THOSE DAYS. Bothinvolve self-exploration. However, Libra is somewhat conventional and falls
within an established framework, about the value of pursuing dreams. Cupid
Rosewood is 14 Years Old is more free and not limited by existing framework.

Chan:

I also choose Cupid Rosewood is 14 Years Old as Special Mention. I also like
Bravocado Oliventure, but I don't know for what award.

Wong:

Are there any works that you would like to nominate for the Silver award?

Chan:

Some works are between Silver award and Special Mention. Maybe I'll start by reconsidering Cupid Rosewood is 14 Years Old for Silver.

Kenji:

Me too.

Hanna:

I think THOSE DAYS is the most outstanding out of all works, but as to whether itshould be awarded the Gold award, I am still struggling.

Wong:

I think it should at least have Special Mention, not necessarily a Silver award, but I
personally cannot accept it as Gold award winner.

Kenji:

I think overwatch deserves Special Mention.

Wong:

I also choose overwatch as Special Mention.

Chan:

You can add my vote.

Wong:

I think either Dream to the Sky or Bravocado Oliventure should win an award.
That being the case, I vote for Dream to the Sky as Special Mention first.

Chan:

Then I will vote for Bravocado Oliventure.

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Hanna:I also choose Bravocado Oliventure.

Li:

I choose Rewind for the Gold award; Cupid Rosewood is 14 Years Old for theSilver; Bravocado Oliventure, overwatch and THOSE DAYS as Special Mentions.

Hanna:

I choose Rewind as the Gold award.

Kenji:

I choose Bravocado Oliventure as Special Mention.

Chan:

If Rewind is the top choice for the Gold Award, are there other contenders?

Kenji:

I think that Rewind is too conventional. With THOSE DAYS, I didn't have strong
feelings for it in the first round, but it has grown on me. I even forgive its flaws, so
I will insist on this work as the Gold award winner. The issues it brings up are also
good.
I would like to nominate two other Special Mentions, namely THOSE DAYS and
Libra. I think I have chosen four Special Mentions but no Silver. I can accept thatany of these four get Silver.

Wong:

Hanna:

My other Special Mention is Cupid Rosewood is 14 Years Old.

Kenji:For the remaining vote for Special Mention, I choose Rewind.

Fan:

Rewind, Cupid Rosewood is 14 Years Old and THOSE DAYS are all works thathave been nominated for Gold or Silver awards. Maybe you will choose twoawards from these three works? Y
I think Cupid Rosewood is 14 Years Old doesn't seem to have reached the level of aGold award.

Hanna:

Fan:

Rewind is the most nominated for the Gold award, and Kenji has stated his position
again, so if Rewind won the Gold award, which one would you choose for theSilver award?

Chan:

I choose THOSE DAYS.

Hanna:

If you compare Cupid Rosewood is 14 Years Old with THOSE DAYS, I choose thelatter.

Wong:

After thinking about again, I will upgrade THOSE DAYS to Silver award.

Li:

Looking at it this way, THOSE DAYS should be the Silver award. The reason why I
chose Cupid Rosewood is 14 Years Old as Silver award just now was because
Rewind is already a traditional narrative work, so I hope to encourage other typesof film with the Silver award.

Kenji:

I agree with what Jill (Li) said. Cupid Rosewood is 14 Years Old is an
unconventional narrative film. At the same time, the director’s way of dealing withdepression is very sincere, although it may be too exaggerated and show off. Even14

if it is a bit self-indulgent, I can live with it. If there is a ranking for Special
Mention, I will choose it as the first place. If it receives the Silver award, it willserve as encouragement, and the work also makes good use of texts. Of course,
other aspects of the work are still very immature, but if the directors make morefilms in the future, they ought to go far.
Fan:

Judging from the number of votes, Rewind should be the Gold. Do you agree?
Kenji, what do you think?

Kenji:

I actually agree that Rewind should take the first or second place, but I prefer theexperimental spirit of THOSE DAYS.

Chan:

I also like THOSE DAYS, but it doesn’t meet Gold award standard in terms offilmmaking. Can there be a double Silver award?

Kenji:

I think it is acceptable to have Rewind for Gold, and I hope that Cupid Rosewood is
14 Years Old wins Silver award.

Fan:

Then we decide that Rewind wins Gold award. As for THOSE DAYS and Cupid
Rosewood is 14 Years Old, the current votes are 3 to 2.

Chan:

The purity and frankness of THOSE DAYS are relatively apparent, although it has
obvious flaws. However, I also agree with Kenji that if the directors of Cupid
Rosewood is 14 Years Old has more experience and is able to use form andnarrative well, they will make a good film. If I had to make a final choice, I would
give Cupid Rosewood is 14 Years Old a Special Mention.

Hanna:

Comparing the two, although Cupid Rosewood is 14 Years Old has a different andnew approach, I prefer the overall treatment and authenticity of THOSE DAYS. It
left a deep impression on me. I am not convinced that it should win the Goldaward, and there are still some flaws with it. Cupid Rosewood is 14 Years Old has
not reached the level of the Silver award.

Chan:

From another point of view, Cupid Rosewood is 14 Years Old is based on the
director’s texts and poems, which is not a typical narrative method; THOSE DAYS
is on the theme of male-male relationship in this era, and has a wider perspective.
The two works each have their own strengths and weaknesses, but the latter has
more ideas, which makes us ignore its flaws.

Li:

If THOSE DAYS gets the Silver award, even if its production is not sophisticatedenough, we are encouraging films that respond to the present reality, as well as
authentic works.

Wong:

From this perspective, the playful and unconventional nature of THOSE DAYS is
indeed worthy of encouragement. Especially after the pandemic, we were afraidthat schools would become lifeless, but this director manages to create such a
joyful work. Another breakthrough is that this student makes a film withhomosexual themes, with a story about a protagonist who goes to live with his15teacher. This approach is also very bold. At the same time, the teacher is willing tohelp out the students with his performances, which should be encouraged. THOSEDAYS has more flaws than Cupid Rosewood is 14 Years Old, but its flaws comefrom its boldness and freedom, and that the director probably doesn't know muchabout filming.
Chan:

I want to ask you about your personal preferences. Personally, I think THOSEDAYS is close to reality and is very original. Cupid Rosewood is 14 Years Old may
be a little bit detached from reality, which is fine, but with this approach, it needs
to be touching in terms of aesthetics or literary quality. I personally prefer works
that are close to reality.

Kenji:

I rank THOSE DAYS higher.

Li:

Although it is obvious what everyone’s preference for Silver award is, I still want
to change my vote to THOSE DAYS, which I think is more deserving of the award.

Fan:

Then everyone should have no objection to Cupid Rosewood is 14 Years Old
receiving Special Mention?

(Everyone agrees)
Fan:

For the remaining two Special Mentions, your preference should be Bravocado
Oliventure and overwatch. Do you have any other additions or objections?

(everyone agrees)

Fan:

The final decision is Bravocado Oliventure and overwatch also receive Special
Mention.

Hanna:The last Special Mention I chose was Libra.

Chan:

Libra is indeed quite sincere, so it is a pity.

Hanna:

I like Libra better than overwatch.

Li:

I think the reason why overwatch touched everyone is that the work has thecourage to respond to the present situation. Of course, Libra also has its highlights.

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28th ifva Youth Category Award Winners
Gold Award
RewindHo Wai-wa, Sung Ting-hin, Lo Ching-laam
Silver Award
THOSE DAYS
Woo Ho-fung, Chiu Tsz-chai, Cheung Wai-kit, Li Hung-pan, Ip Cheuk-hang, Fung Yuk-lam
Special Mention
Cupid Rosewood is 14 Years Old
Choy Sin-man Jasmine, Tong Wing-tung Ilana
Bravocado Oliventure
Leung Man-hei Abby, Li Yan-wing, Chu Chi-ching, Deng Po-yan, Kok Sin-yau, Chan Yukkiu
overwatch
Chiu Ka-yin, Pak King-tai, Li Tsun-wai, Lei Yat-ming

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