Happy valley
16mm // Sound // Color // 13 Minutes // 2020
British Colonial-era structures overlook scenes in the aftermath of civil unrest as Hong Kongers work to retain some semblance of normality. The sound of petty arguments from local TVB soap-operas of the 80s are put in concert with captive animals, political graffiti and desolate highways. Suspension cables and ship anchor lines reveal a fragile urban anatomy; the structures that keep the city moving along. As civic functions grind to a halt, the limits of our empathy and control come into question. As the days teeter toward an uncertain future, HAPPY VALLEY cinematically probes the role of the so-called “little things”. A rendering of the perseverance of spirit in Hong Kong - an attempt at irony that can’t help but be emotional.
“In Hong Kong, echoes of resistance and turmoil are sensitively captured on 16mm in this poetic rumination of public spaces and everyday life in a metropolis in upheaval.” — ND/NF
In the Permanent Collection of the Museum of Modern Art (NY, USA)
RECENT SCREENINGS
New Directors/New Films with MoMA & Film at Lincoln Center 2020
International Film Festival Rotterdam: Tiger Competition for Short Film 2021
Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles - SCREEN Series
Media City Film Festival 2022
Viennale - Vienna International Film Festival 2021
Melbourne International Film Festival 2021
Jeonju International Film Festival 2021
Camden International Film Festival 2021
Festival du Nouvéau Cinéma 2021
EXiS - Experimental Film & Video in Seoul 2021
Open City Documentary Festival 2021
TIDF - Taiwan International Documentary Festival 2021
European Media Art Festival 2021
Light Matter Film Festival 2021
Black Canvas Festival de Cine Contemporáneo 2021
San Diego Asian Film Festival 2021
UNDERDOX filmfestival 2021
Images Festival 2021
IndieLisboa 2021
ICDOCS 2021
Urban Video Project / Everson Museum of Art Group Exhibition 2021
* Festival du Nouvéau Cinéma - Dada International Award 2021 *
* Melbourne International Film Festival - Best Experimental Short Film 2021 *
* EXiS - Experimental Film & Video in Seoul : Best EXiS Award 2021 *
* TIDF Taiwan International Documentary Festival - Special Mention for Chinese Documentary Award 2021 *
* European Media Art Festival - Special Mention for EMAF Award 2021 *
* Onion City Film Festival - Best of Fest Award 2021 *
* ICDOCS - WOW Award (2021) *
