Mixed reactions over controversial documentary winning best film at HK Film Awards

Netizens across local social platforms have shown mixed reactions after a controversial documentary To My Nineteen-Year-Old Self has won the best film at the 41st Hong Kong Film Awards, two months after it was pulled from cinemas.

At Sunday’s event at the Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, co-director of the film William Kwok delivered a speech expressing his feelings and advice for local filmakers, “Lastly, I want to say, to all directors filming documentaries in Hong Kong, please keep putting effort into shooting documentaries – don’t be afraid, because documentaries are needed. Use the lens to record what is happening, remember to keep rolling, keep going, don’t be afraid – shoot first, edit first, and release [the films] first.”

Since then,there has been a notable increase in media coverage of the film over the last 24 hours, with 38.5% negative sentiments and 18.8% positive mentions, according to media intelligence firm CARMA. "Many netizens have expressed doubts about the integrity of the film's directors. Some have accused them of lacking respect for young people, citing the director's speech of 'shoot first, edit first and release (the films) first' as evidence that he condones violating the privacy of the six schoolgirls from Ying Wa Girls' School (YWGS) featured in the film," said Charles Cheung, CARMA's HK GM. 

Additionally, some netizens have expressed disappointment with the official statement released by YWGS shortly after the documentary won best film, according to Cheung. 

Furthermore, a check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE saw a post published on ViuTV's Facebook page congratulating the movie has received over 9,000 “angry” emoji reaction. Some netizens said that they could not see that the production team learn a lesson after the incident. Meanwhile, some said that they immediately turned off the television after knowing that the film winning the best film award.

On the other hand, Ying Wa Girls Schools, which was featured in the documentary, published a statement on its official website after the documentary won best film, reiterating that the production team filmed based on the principle of consent and knowledge of those schoolgirls, and never intended to force or film those students secretly. The school added that it allowed students to withdraw during the filming.

Don't miss: Hong Kong director Mabel Cheung’s documentary suspended amid complaints over public screening

The documentary was pulled from Hong Kong cinemas from 6 February after the film's director Mabel Cheung apologised for not getting consent of public screening from six girls who were featured in the documentary. Cheung said after a screening in Whampoa on 5 February that she will suspend a documentary featuring the 10-year-growth of six girls from Ying Wah Girls’ School from 6 February, after some girls featured in the film said their consent was not sought for public screening.

Amid the controversies, “Ah Ling”, one of the girls who was featured heavily in the film, wrote to Ming Pao Weekly and claimed that the documentary was screened publicly without her consent. Ah Ling said she did not know about the plan to publicly screen the film until half a year to a few months before the school's premiere in December 2021. She also said that the school once drafted a letter of consent authorising the school to conduct outsourced screenings and participate in film festivals, but she never signed it. The school and the team later presented another "notice" signed by her parents back in 2012, saying that they had sought legal advice. Ling said the director and the school have signed a contract for public screening in their last meeting, so there’s nothing she could do to stop it.

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