Controversial Ying Wa Girls’ School documentary To My Nineteen-year-old Self wins best picture at Hong Kong Film Awards
- To My Nineteen-year-old Self was previously pulled from cinemas after some interviewees said they had not consented to public screenings
- More than 30 films in competition for prizes at 41st edition of awards on Sunday evening
Winners of major award categories:
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Best Film: To My Nineteen-year-old Self
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Best Actress: Sammi Cheng Sau-man in Lost Love
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Best Actor: Sean Lau Ching-wan in Detective vs Sleuths
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Best New Performer: Sahal Zaman in The Sunny Side of the Street
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Best New Director: Ho Cheuk-tin for The Sparring Partner
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Best Film Editing: Lee Him-ming, Zhang Zhao and Jojo Shek for The Sparring Partner
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Best Screenplay: Wai Ka-fai, Ryker Chan, Mak Tin-shu for Detective vs Sleuths
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Best Director: Wai Ka-fai for Detective vs Sleuths
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Best Supporting Actor: Michael Hui Koon-man in Where the Wind Blows
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Best Supporting Actress: Ivana Wong Yuen-chi in Table for Six
Controversial documentary To My Nineteen-year-old Self bagged best picture at Hong Kong’s most prestigious film awards on Sunday, despite earlier being pulled from cinemas after some interviewees said they had not consented to any public screenings.
“Remember not to be scared, film it first, edit it first and screen it first,” co-director William Kwok Wai-Lun said at the 41st Hong Kong Film Awards, urging the city’s documentary filmmakers to keep going and not to be afraid.
The coming-of-age documentary, directed by Mabel Cheung Yuen-ting, traces the lives of six girls from Ying Wa Girls’ School over a period of 10 years.
The school said it had not sent a representative to attend the awards ceremony as it had decided to withdraw from the event.
“Our school would like to express our sincere apologies to the organisers and thank them for their assistance and understanding over the past few months,” it said in a statement.
It also reiterated that during the production process, those involved in the documentary had worked under the assumption of the subjects’ consent and knowledge, with no intention of forced or secret filming.
The school earlier said it had decided to withdraw the documentary from the best film category after careful consideration, following its decision to pull it from public screens in the wake of the controversy.
