They Say the Moon is Fuller Here 外國的月亮圓些?
UK Premiere, 40th Anniversary
This Film is part of
Focus: Forever Foreigner—The Films of Clara Law
curated by Eleanor Lu and Ching Wong
20 Sept 2025 (Sat)
12.20pm, Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA)
UK | 1985 | Colour | 78’ | In English and Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles
Dir.: Clara Law 羅卓瑤
Cast: Clara Law 羅卓瑤
What was originally conceived as a graduation short at the National Film and Television School became Clara Law’s notable debut feature: a 16mm film that launched her cinema of the diaspora and offers a rare glimpse of her captivating onscreen performance.
Ling (played by Clara Law), a Hong Kong fine art student studying abroad in London, is working on a project to reinterpret the poignant Chinese legend Butterfly Lovers through dance. As she struggles to help her British peers to grasp the rich cultural nuances in the choreography and share her aesthetic sensibility that defies the East-West dichotomy, Han Wah, an engineering student on a state scholarship from mainland China whose artistic ambitions have been curtailed, comes to her aid.
Set against the backdrop of the impending handover of Hong Kong and the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution, the film portrays the inner turmoil of those caught between worlds in times of political upheaval, and was awarded the Silver Plaque at the Chicago International Film Festival.
Followed by a live online Q&A with Clara Law and Eddie Fong.
With thanks to Chun Chun Wong.