Press Release
HKBU presents its first feature film, Pretty Heart, at premiere gala
Wednesday, 20 July 2022
More than 400 guests enjoyed Pretty Heart, the first feature film presented by Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU), at the premiere gala held yesterday (19 July) by the University’s Academy of Film (AF). The event celebrated the scheduled screening of the film, which is due to begin on 28 July.
The premiere gala, sponsored by the Chinachem Group, was presided over by Dr Clement Chen, Chairman of the Council and the Court; Professor Alexander Wai, President and Vice-Chancellor; Professor Roland Chin, President Emeritus; and Professor Ellen Elizabeth Seiter, Director of AF at HKBU.
The cast of Pretty Heart, including Miss Jennifer Yu Heung-ying, Mr Law Kar-ying, Ms Lelia Chow Mei-fung and Mr Tyson Chak Hoi-tai also attended the event together with the film’s director and producers.
The production of Pretty Heart was supported by HK$5 million in seed funding from the Moral Education Fund, which was established following a donation from HKS Education Fund Limited to AF in 2017. The seed funding was designed to support the production of a commercial film that promotes moral education.
Pretty Heart is jointly presented by HKBU; HKS Education Fund Limited; Professor Roland Chin; Professor Huang Yu, Dean of the School of Communication; and Professor Eva Man Kit-wah, Chair Professor of AF at HKBU. The film is directed by Mr Terry Ng Ka-wai, and the leading cast members include Ms Jennifer Yu Heung-ying, Mr Vincent Wong Ho-shun, and Mr Hugo Ng.
The story of Pretty Heart is based on the winning script from a competition organised by AF, and it was written by students and alumni of HKBU’s Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Creative Writing for Film, Television and New Media programme. The awardees, led by renowned film veterans Mr Ng Yu, Mr Fruit Chan and Mr O Sing-pui, who acted as producers of the film, worked further on the winning entry and created the film’s final script.
Exploring the oft-discussed topic of education, Pretty Heart unveils the daily challenges and controversies faced by teachers and students in Hong Kong. It is a rare example of a local film that focuses on the growth of modern youngsters as its main theme.
The project also offered HKBU film students an invaluable opportunity to apply their novel ideas and practise their film production skills. More than 30 HKBU students and alumni participated in different roles in the film’s production, ranging from assistants in the director team, scriptwriters, and crew members in the cinematography, production design and post-production teams to actors and actresses.
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