Memories to Choke On, Drinks to Wash Them Down 夜香・鴛鴦・深水埗
Hong Kong / 2019 / Colour / 77 mins
In Cantonese and English with Chinese and English subtitles
Dir. Ming Kai LEUNG, Kate REILLY
2022 / 03 / 20 (Sun) - 7:15 PM
Genesis Cinema, London
2022 / 03 / 23 (Wed) - 5:30 PM
Everyman Broadgate, London
Memories to Choke On, Drinks to Wash Them Down’s chapters were filmed in February–November 2019, moving from narrative into the documentary as the year unfolded. First undertaken to capture the zeitgeist of Hong Kong after 2014, production ended on the brink of 2020.
Many elderly people in Hong Kong were once refugees from mainland China. In their old age, they are cared for by a new wave of immigrants primarily from Indonesia and the Philippines. With their children busy at work, these elderly people are hungry for connection. Some find that connection by attending rallies where they receive gifts. Others find it in friendship with their immigrant caregivers, with whom they may have more in common than their children.
Hong Kongers in their twenties grew up expecting to enjoy professional jobs and more comfortable lives than those of their parents. Instead, thanks to a distorted economy, many can’t get the jobs they are trained for. And in the most expensive city in the world, that means they can’t afford to move out. Homebound, with nothing to look forward to, young adults can feel like perpetual children. They have to forge a new path to independence.
After 2014, many grieving Hong Kongers entering middle age have struggled with a decision: whether to leave or to stay and recommit themselves to their home. Those who stayed have taken refuge in nostalgia for old Hong Kong’s local culture and food. In 2019, they found new inspiration in the next generation.
Amid the 2019 protests, young political novices from a host of unconventional backgrounds threw themselves into running for local office. Among them was Jessica Lam Sin-tung, a misanthropic pastry chef turned barista, bar manager, and music-video star. Young Hong Kong women are important to the local demographic spectrum, and Jessica brings the film out of the past and into the future. In the documentary conclusion of the film, Jessica is part of a singular election in the history of Hong Kong.
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Leung Ming-kai:
Leung Ming-kai is a cinematographer and filmmaker from Hong Kong. Kai has shot more than a dozen celebrated features in different parts of the world. These include Sylvia Chang's Murmur of the Hearts, Johnny Ma's Old Stone, and Anocha Suwichakornpong's By the Time It Gets Dark. Festivals including Cannes, Berlin, Locarno, New York, Rotterdam, and New Directors/New Films have selected films he shot. Kai has been nominated for various national cinematography awards. His most recent cinematography effort, Ray Yeung’s Suk Suk, screened in Berlin and was nominated for Best Picture at the Hong Kong Film Awards.
Kai has also directed several short films. Three Boys represented the Philippines in competition at Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival and won the top prize at the Hong Kong Independent Film & Video Awards. It also screened at São Paulo, Austin, and Jecheon. Lock (starring co-director Kate Reilly) competed at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Kate Reilly:
Kate Reilly is an actor and filmmaker from the United States. As an actor, Kate has worked with directors including Anocha Suwichakornpong, John Magary, Lee Chatametikool, and Leung Ming- kai, in films that were selected by Rotterdam's Tiger Awards, Busan, Tribeca, Tokyo, and Edinburgh Film Festivals, as well as HBO’s US Comedy Arts Festival.
Kate acted with New York theatre group Polybe + Seats, which the Village Voice called "a smart and ambitious company." Critics described her lead performance in their play A History of Launching Ships as "marvellous" and "a pleasure to watch."
Kate was on a house sketch team that wrote and performed live comedy at the Peoples Improv Theatre in New York. She wrote for and produced Lock-in!, a variety show, and played Dorothy in improvised Golden Girls episodes.
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Best Screenplay — Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards 2020
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International Film Festival Rotterdam 2020
Vancouver International Film Festival 2020
Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival 2020
Hong Kong Asian Film Festival 2020
Hong Kong Independent Film Festival 2020
Jeonju International Film Festival 2020
New York Asian Film Festival 2020
San Diego Asian Film Festival 2020
Five Flavours Asian Film Festival 2020
