When romance starts to cool, Ah Ying applies for a job in a film centre. Instead of paying her for her work, the centre lets her attend its classes for free. She is later drawn into a relationship with her teacher. Based on the life of its leading actress, Hui So Ying, and using non-professionals, the film is a realistic portrayal of contemporary Hong Kong life. —IMDb
Allen Fong Yuk Ping was born in 1947, the year of the pig. Ann Hui, Edward Yang and Hou Xiao Xian (Hou Hsiao Hsien) were born in the same year. They all belong to a generation which has a passion for cinema and have devoted their lives to making ,quality’ films.
Allen studied in the USA for five years in the 1970’s and earned his degree from the University of Southern California Cinema School. He returned to Hong Kong and joined the TV station RTHK (Radio Television Hong Kong).
In the 1980s he became a freelance filmmaker. He has made five films and more than 20 TV features, all of them documentary-style films, closely related to real life. His latest film A little Life Opera is the first film he has made in mainland China. Many of his films have won awards, including Best Director from the Hong Kong Academy awards. —Berlin Festival
