Interview by Rui Pastorin
In 2024, local filmmaker Harriet Wong Teng Teng’s first feature length film “Revisit” was released to encouraging reactions from audiences of different backgrounds, having since garnered a number of nominations and awards.
Made on a modest budget with a tight-knit crew, the family drama explores “universal family dynamics and the beauty of intergenerational relationships”, Wong, who directed the film, said during a recent interview with the Post. The story sees Olivia (“Oli”), a local freelancer working in Beijing, who returns to Macau upon learning that her grandma is very ill, coming back to take care of her, reconnecting as well as rekindling their relationship in the process.
The film has been nominated for the “Best Directorial Debut Award” at the 38th China Golden Rooster Awards and received accolades such as “Best New Director Award” at the Main Competition of the 1st Asian Art Film Awards and “Most Expected Film of the Year of HK, Macau, Taiwan regions” of the 37th China Golden Rooster Awards.
But among the independent feature film’s most recent recognitions are winning the “Best New Director” during the “21st Chinese American Film Festival” last month in Los Angeles, while in August during the “34th Woods Hole Film Festival” in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, it took home “Best Performance Award” for Hongkonger Cherry Ngan Cheuk Ling’s delivery as “Oli”. And the honours didn’t stop there as first-time actress, 84-year-old Cheung Wai Hing, who played the role of Grandma in the movie, had earlier been nominated as “Best Actress” at a film festival in London, added Wong.
Highlighting the two recent recognitions, Wong said that it was beyond what they had expected. She described garnering the “Best Performance Award” at the 34th Annual Woods Hole Film Festival, where screenings of independent films and seminars take place while gathering filmmakers to exchange ideas, as marking a rewarding moment for her as the film’s director. During its screening there, she also pointed out that audiences were able to relate to Oli despite being an Asian character, while finding connection in the real and grounded performance, even evoking memories and a story of a similar experience among them. “They said they can all feel Oli, that they can all relate to Oli. That was the most rewarding moment”.
Winning “Best New Director” during the 21st Chinese American Film Festival had also proved to be a surprise given how many other Chinese movies were competing, underlining just how special it felt. In both cases, she said she was glad to show her film, whether in its entirety or through trailers, to audiences on the other side of the world.
Moreover, the film has been screened in the Chinese mainland during roadshows. Having this experience as a low-budget and independent film was gratifying, more so with the dialogue created among audiences and feedback received from them, highlighting these as “the most rewarding present for a filmmaker”.
“What I treasure is the dialogue…It’s like we are building dialogue, not only within those 90 minutes, but maybe it’s a dialogue that never stops”, Wong continued.
While the movie has also been shown in Macau, there has yet to be a public screening. “But I’m planning to make it happen”, Wong said, hoping to show the film at local cinemas, as well as in Hong Kong and other places in the coming year.
This article is the first of a two-part story, with a follow-up slated for page 4.
This undated and unlocated photo shows local filmmaker Wong posing. – Photo: Harriet Wong
This image provided by “Revisit” director Harriet Wong Teng Teng shows a still from the movie.
