Screening of The Grass is Greener on the Other Side 野草不盡 + Academic x Filmmaker Conversation
Friday, 27 October 2023
18:00-20:00 PDT
AERL 120, Aquatic Ecosystems Research Lab
(2202 Main Mall, University of British Columbia, Vancouver)
Join us for the screening of The Grass is Greener on the Other Side 野草不盡 (2022), a documentary that explores the persistence of trauma, the question of identity, and the quest for a place called home among Hongkongers in diaspora. The post-screening conversation will feature a sharing by director Crystal Wong (virtual participation) and Dr. Miu Chung Yan (UBC School of Social work).
The film is in Cantonese and English with Chinese and English subtitles.
Free and in person event. Registration required.
The Grass is Greener on the Other Side
2022 | Hong Kong, United Kingdom | Dir. Crystal Wong | 73 min | documentary
Watch the trailer.
About the film:
In the aftermath of the 2019 protests, Hongkongers are leaving by the thousands to the UK. They look for a free future, but are encumbered by the guilt of abandoning their homeland. The film explores Hongkongers’ struggle with post-traumatic anxieties and the tension between one’s identity and role in an evolving society. How can one move on from collective trauma? Where can they truly find home?
About the director:
Crystal Wong is a Hong Kong-raised documentary filmmaker. Graduating from the School of Journalism and Communication at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, she relocated to the US in pursuit of independent filmmaking. Her debut feature documentary The Grass is Greener on the Other Side reflects on her own diaspora experience and the evolving identity of Hongkongers after the 2019 pro-democracy movement.
Screenings and Awards:
Taiwan International Documentary Festival 2022 (World Premiere)
Nominee, TIDF Visionary Award
South Korea DMZ International Documentary Film Festival 2022 (Korean Premiere)
Nominee, Asian Competition
About the discussant:
Dr. Miu Chung Yan is a professor in the School of Social Work at the University of British Columbia. He is an applied qualitative researcher and has conducted and participated in many studies on immigrant and refugee settlement and integration issues and transnational movement of Hong Kong immigrants to Canada. Recently, he has completed an online survey on Hong Kong residents who returned/arrived Canada since 2015. Currently he is conducting a qualitative study on Hong Kong immigrants settling in Canada, UK and Taiwan. Dr. Yan has published over 70 articles in many international journals, such as British Journal of Social Work, International Social Work, Journal of International Migration and Integration, and Community Development Journal. He has coedited several books, including the first Canadian textbook on human and health services for working with immigrants and refugees published by Oxford University Press.
In 2023, Dr. Yan and his team published the first and the second reports of the Survey Study on Hong Kong Residents Recently Arrived in Canada.
野草不盡
2022 | 香港、英國 | 黃靖凝 | 73 min | 紀錄片
關於電影：
身在異⼟卻惦念家鄉，身在家鄉卻想著出⾛。
《野草不盡》以兩個⾹港⼈為群像，貼身拍攝他們遷移英國之際，經歷複雜的情緒和掙扎。少年告別同窗好友，⼼負倖存者的內疚，在英國漫步遼闊的草原。年輕爸爸迎接在港出⽣的兒⼦，抱著不忿⽽舉家移英。身兼⽗親和港⼈兩種身份，他又如何⾯對他下⼀代對身份認同的焦慮。
縱然迷惘，⽣活卻要向前⾛。身份認同與社會角⾊之間的⽭盾，是經歷2019年⾹港反修例運動的港⼈，回到現實的⽇常問題。
兩⼈來到六⽉的倫敦集會──是安撫創傷，還是舊瓶新酒︖ ⾹港⼈在海外尋求意義，他們能否成為具影響⼒的離散族群︖ ⾹港⼈身份，能否散落世界，還是注定被遺忘︖來到新國⼟，他們又能否視之為家︖
道別之際，扎根之前，野草將⽣⽽不盡。
關於導演：
⿈靖凝，九⼗後影像創作者和紀錄⽚導演。⽣於⾹港，畢業於⾹港中⽂⼤學新聞與傳播學院，其後移居美國。《野草不盡》為她的⾸部紀錄長⽚作品，透過凝視港⼈遷移和離散的故事，反思⾃身去留經歷和流動的港⼈身份認同。
影展及獎項：
第13屆台灣國際紀錄⽚影展 2022（世界⾸映）
再⾒真實獎提名
第14屆DMZ韓國國際紀錄⽚影展 2022（韓國⾸映）
亞洲競賽單元
關於討論人：
殷妙仲博士，為卑詩大學社會工作學院教授，專門從事應用質性研究。多年來，殷博士致力主持並參與關於移民和難民安置、融合問題，以及加拿大香港移民的研究項目。 最近，他完成了一項關於2015年以來回流/抵達加拿大的香港居民的網上調查計劃。目前他正在對定居加拿大、英國及台灣的香港移民進行質性研究。 殷博士曾在國際學術期刊發表70多篇論文，當中包括《British Journal of Social Work》、《International Social Work》、《Journal of International Migration and Integration》及《Community Development Journal》。 他曾合編多部學術書籍，包括由牛津大學出版社出版、加拿大第一本關於移民和難民工作的健康服務教科書。
2023年，殷博士及其團隊發表了《近期抵加香港居民調查研究》第一期及第二期報告。
This event is organized by the UBC Hong Kong Studies Initiative and is supported by the Department of Asian Studies, the Watt Family – Hong Kong Studies Initiative Fund, and the Centre for Chinese Research.
Registration for “Screening + Academic x Filmmaker Conversation: The Grass is Greener on the Other Side 野草不盡“
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