Scenes from Departure

Amid Hong Kong’s 2019 upheaval, a message from his father suspends a filmmaker in emotional stasis. During the subsequent pandemic lockdown, separated across borders, father and son connect through prolonged video calls. Between silences and fragmented memories, the film traces two men struggling to reach one another through trauma and unspoken grief.

Ray Kam-hei Chan: ‘I lived most of my youth in pain, so much that I wished every farewell could be eternal, and I protected myself through detachment.As an adult, I began learning how to live, only to realize pain does not disappear, but simply takes another form. I suspect love may be the same. Pain pushed me back into my own emotions and memories, asking: How did I end up here? How do I go on?This film is a survivor’s journal of a family, and tenderness might not comfort all wounds. I hope to create a space to breathe for those who have spent years closing themselves off to avoid pain. If you see yourself here, perhaps we are not alone.’