Odyssey 2024 Presents: Shorts Selection from Hong Kong:
Today’s Special (Director: Tiger YAU)
A rogue driver discovers that there is something different in the “today’s special” soup served by the cha chaan teng he frequents: there are carrots inside. For some reason he is obsessed with this. The obsession lingers, as he soon steps out of line and sticks his nose into his customer’s business, determined to save a girl seemingly being kidnapped. Are these all predetermined, or of his own making? With spectacular fighting and car chase scenes, this short is a must watch for lovers of Hong Kong crime films.
Eggs (Director: Saito CHONG)
A migrant couple from Vietnam, A Li and A Mai, fall in love in Taiwan, but A Mai's pregnancy turns her into a burden to her employer, forcing them into cash-in-hand work to survive. As A Mai’s nears childbirth, they face a police raid, driving them to flee to the mountains teeming with lychee stink bugs, yet they remain trapped in a fate of isolation and despair.
The director sheds light on the plight of “lost-contact migrant workers” in official records. Through A Li's story, the film uses the lychee stink bug - an invasive pest in Taiwan - as a metaphor for marginalised individuals who are stigmatised and forced to confront a fragmented and precarious reality. With realistic imagery, the film powerfully captures the tragedy of those living as outsiders in a foreign land.
Lykke Til (Director: Bobby YU Shuk Pui)
Dealing with visas, finding a job, and finding a place to live are hard enough for an immigrant in Norway. On top of these, the woman protagonist faces an array of problems: an unexpected pregnancy, racism, and a rift in the relationship with her girlfriend. Luckily, she finds herself a shelter in a restaurant ran by a Hongkong immigrant, being able to have a taste of home away from home. This short brilliantly echoes the plight of many immigrants in Europe who long for their hometown yet feel compelled to stay for various reasons. A music video on the protagonist’s experience with hemorrhoids is a comedic and fitting inclusion, elevating this short with a fresh wave of creativity. Winner of the best director award at the 17th Fresh Wave International Short Film Festival, this very worth-watching recent work of Hong Kong cinema showcases what Hongkong-Europe collaboration can achieve.
