The Sunny Side of the Street

Hong Kong is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive society, but not many people pay attention to the plight of asylum seekers. Lau Kok Rui, a new director who came to Hong Kong from Malaysia to study at City University of Hong Kong, explores this issue in his debut film, The Sunny Side of the Street. The film brought him and his team early success with awards and nominations at the Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan and the Hong Kong Film Awards.

A line from Tang Dynasty poetry says, "Being a stranger in a foreign land is like being a guest"(獨在異鄉為異客). Lau Kok Rui recalls that on graduating from high school he learned from his teacher that CityU had established full scholarships for overseas students. With a try-it-all attitude he applied and was accepted, leading him to study and live alone in the unfamiliar city. Coupled with his almost non-existent knowledge of Cantonese, the inevitable result was feeling a bit of a "stranger." Perhaps it was empathy that sparked his attention to the extensive media coverage of asylum seekers in Hong Kong in 2015, gradually leading to the idea of creating a film, and starting to write the scripts for The Sunny Side of the Street in 2019.

Fully funded scholarship

"I had many hobbies during my study periods. I chose Marketing at CityU because I was interested in advertising. The programme covered design, copywriting, and business elements, which are in line with the needs of the industry," Kok Rui explained. He particularly thanks CityU for its support. The full scholarship allowed him to study and live in Hong Kong without worrying to burden his family. This was very helpful as he could focus on his studies and left him with many happy learning memories. He especially appreciated the large number of group projects in the programme, which helped students establish good relationships, and was a key factor in gaining the fluent Cantonese he enjoys today. "I have loved watching movies since I was young, but the small town where I grew up only had one cinema with limited choices. It was not until I went to CityU that I discovered a library with a vast collection of films, including foreign language films such as Spanish cinema. I once watched more than 80 movies in one summer, which constantly increased my interest in film."

Shooting documentaries to uncover social issues

Before becoming a film director, Lau Kok Rui was best known for directing several TV dramas for a local television station. Looking back at the beginning of his career, he briefly worked as a university teaching assistant before turning to a television advertising production company where he participated in mainstream commercial productions and worked with many well-known brands. "At that time, I also started shooting independent documentaries with friends in my spare time. One series was about homeless people in Sham Shui Po, which gave me the opportunity to explore different aspects of the city."

When it comes to The Sunny Side of the Street, which he had been planning for a long time, Kok Rui said that the biggest challenge for a new director was getting funding. Due to the impact of the pandemic, he spent two to three years looking for financial support, until he met an investor from Malaysia at the Hong Kong - Asia Film Financing Forum. "Another challenge was finding suitable 'amateur' actors for the film, especially the Pakistani boy who was one of the main characters. We spent three to four months auditioning before we found Sahal Zaman, who won the Best New Actor award at the Hong Kong Film Awards."

Award recognition keeps mission alive

Lau Kok Rui explained that the Chinese name of The Sunny Side of the Street (白日青春) was taken from a poem by Yuan Mei, a poet from the Qing Dynasty, which reads "Places without light but youth flourishes (mosses grow)" (白日不到處,青春恰自來). Through this, he hopes to convey the message to the two generations of refugee families in the film that they can flourish like moss, even in places where the sun cannot reach, and find a way out. As for the open ending of the film, which has sparked different interpretations, he describes his film as a mirror that reflects the social environment and thoughts of the audience, inspiring them to think more deeply, rather than focusing on whether the mirror is beautiful, three-dimensional, or has any other gimmicks.

The Sunny Side of the Street won multiple awards at the recent (2022) Golden Horse Awards including Best New Director and Best Original Screenplay, important recognition for a new director who is still exploring his personal style. For his next work, he plans to make realistic family dramas that are close to his background and may consider filming in Malaysia. Speaking of the next generation of aspiring directors, he encourages them to shoot stories that interest them, maintain confidence and a sense of mission, and find like-minded partners. Filmmaking, he says, is not a solo endeavor. Interpersonal skills are just as important as technical ability.

This article is a translation of the published interview by the Alumni Relations Office, City University of Hong Kong: https://www.cityu.edu.hk/aro/alumnistories/208.htm