Thanks for the award but best movie won't be rescreened, says girls school

Ying Wa Girls' School has no plan to rescreen the controversial documentary To My Nineteen-Year-Old Self, while reiterating it was made with the consent and knowledge of the teeagers who had been told they could withdraw any time during the filming.

The documentary won best film in the Hong Kong Film Awards on Sunday, two months after it was pulled from cinemas over privacy infringement.

The school in Mid-Levels did not send representatives to the awards ceremony at Hong Kong Cultural Centre but released a statement to thank the panel for the recognition.

It also thanked the film's co-director, Mabel Cheung Yuen-ting, and producer Eunice Wong Wai - both school alumni - for their contributions.

"The team has been involved in filming without compensation throughout the year and deserves recognition for their dedication," the statement said.

"The school would like to reiterate that, during the course of shooting, the team filmed on the principle of consent and knowledge of those filmed. The team never intended to force film shoots or to shoot in secret, and we allowed students to withdraw during the filming process."

A staff member said the school has no plan to rescreen the documentary.

The 136-minute film, which recorded the growth of six students of Cheung's alma mater, also earned nominations for best director and best film editing.

The film was taken down in February after four days of screening at cinemas amid complaints from the schoolgirls about privacy infringement.

Cheung was sick and absent from the awards ceremony. When receiving the trophy, her co-director, William Kwok Wai-lun, said the award was a recognition of the documentary.

The chairman of the Hong Kong Film Awards Association, director Derek Yee Tung-shing, said after the ceremony that all 14 directors of the awards' board had decided not to pull the film's nomination.

"We considered that the voters were wise enough to cast their votes," Yee said. "As part of the association, I myself would not take a stance. We have no right to alter the results of any of the prizes."

Culture Secretary Kevin Yeung Yun-hung congratulated all winners on Facebook while posting a photo of himself and Oscar-winning Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng.

Labor Secretary Chris Sun Yuk-han congratulated Sammi Cheng Sau-man for winning best actress for the film Lost Love.

The chairman of the Hong Kong Film Development Council chairman, Wilfred Wong Ying-wai, congratulated government-funded films Lost Love and The Sparring Partner for their wins.

Six films funded by the council's First Feature Film Initiative and Film Production Financing Scheme scooped 27 nominations.

eunice.lam@singtaonewsocorp.com

Editorial: Still hoping for a satisfactory ending