An independent documentary director based in Hong Kong. Supported by CNEX, his first feature-length documentary Fish Story (2013) won Best Documentary at FIRST International Film Festival, and was nominated for the New Talent Award at Hong Kong Asian Film Festival. A word-of-mouth success that screened in Hong Kong cinemas for nearly a year, his second feature-length documentary Snuggle (2016) was awarded as a ‘Film of Merit’ at the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards (HKFCSA) and has been screened at Taipei Film Festival, South Taiwan Film Festival and Singapore Chinese Film Festival. His third film 3CM (2019) was again awarded as a ‘Film of Merit’ by HKFCSA and was screened at Taiwan International Human Rights Film Festival. An extension of 3CM, Wong’s latest work-in-progress The Whisper of Sunlight examines rare disease patients in Hong Kong taking a stand against the drug formulary system. As an observer of the city and its people, Wong is passionate about turning his eye to the society’s underrepresented and forgotten people.
Obedience
Obedience
Obedience
In Hong Kong, the Goddess of Compassion temple attracts worshippers seeking financial help, while across the street, garbage collectors toil, recycling waste into wealth. As new development threatens their way of life, Wong Siu-pong's observational documentary Obedience questions what is truly considered waste in this city.
'In 2008, the announcement of a new railway project promised significant improvements for Hung Hom. This scandal-ridden project, marked by excessive cost overruns, spanned over a decade. Initially budgeted at HK$30 billion, the costs skyrocketed to nearly HK$100 billion, all under the watchful eye of Hong Kong's citizens. Additionally, a major acquisition plan for old buildings in the area fell by the wayside due to the project's delays. Developers and property owners neglected these buildings, leading to frequent collapses due to disrepair. Amidst this flurry of controversial news, I became deeply curious about how the residents in the area were coping with the looming changes to their homes.
'My journey began in 2017, filming in a quaint recycling shop within the neighbourhood. Here, I observed people exchanging paper, construction refuse, and renovation debris for small sums of money. What was dismissed as waste by construction teams was a valuable resource for the local scavengers.
'Amidst the backdrop of towering new skyscrapers and the stream of visitors to the Kwun Yum Temple, I witnessed the harsh realities of the neighbourhood. Elderly individuals sifted through garbage for cardboard, worth only a few pennies; aged garbage collectors worked beyond their physical limitations; a family handled food waste from the restaurants. At night, vendors sold used goods at the "dawn market"—a temporary flea market operating in the early hours to evade police intervention.
'For these scavengers, constant labour and waste are their world. However, their future is uncertain with the impending completion of the redevelopment project, demolition of old buildings, and closure of recycling shops, raising questions about the fate of both the waste and its collectors.' - WONG Siu-pong
