The post-2000 Hong Kong young filmmakers: Embrace, resistance and new chances

Abstract

This article is a text-based analysis of 107 Hong Kong local productions produced from 2000 to August 2018. These films are made by the current young generation of filmmakers who joined the industry in the new millennium, when it gradually entered an era marked by the domination of Hong Kong–mainland co-productions. With the aim of expanding the scholarly discussion on the emerging ‘Hong Kong SAR New Wave Cinema’, it identifies four themes that recurrently appear in their films: (1) a tendency to feature people with physical or mental disabilities as their protagonists; (2) the possession of a sense of nostalgia for the glorious 1980s; (3) a manifestation of larger Hong Kong–mainland relations through characters; and (4) varying degrees of politicization. The young generation of filmmakers, whose works denote the social responsibility these young people bring to their filmmaking, shows their greater engagement with civic issues, less consideration of the mainland market and capital and a stronger desire to tell local Hong Kong stories, preserve local Hong Kong culture and emphasize the Hong Kong identity it represents. These traits, as the conclusion argues, are rooted deeply in economic, cultural and political realities.