Finding Oneself

Yau Ching / 2000 / 22min / Cantonese / English and Chinese Subtitles

Finding Oneself is an experimental documentary made for the series Cultural Vibes commissioned by Radio Television Hong Kong, Hong Kong’s public television. The series aims to explore the place of creativity in daily social practices. Finding Oneself uses two case studies of performance troupes to compare and contrast two trends of performance art in Hong Kong, the traditional Cantonese Opera and the more Westernized youth theatre. Contrary to popular belief, it subtly explores the similarities of both art forms, and their high demands on the performers. By using the multi-talented cartoonist/designer Craig Auyeung’s monologue of “I am…” as a structural device, the program focuses on the effects of various art practices on the young emerging performers, their abilities to encourage a means of self-education and identity formation in Hong Kong, otherwise suppressed in the official education system or in the normative Chinese family system. This program seeks to challenge the widespread preconception of art in Hong Kong as a privilege only for the lazy and the rich.