Private Project

1 A.M. IN HONG KONG

This film captures the scenery and people of Hong Kong from 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. It shows ordinary people's attitudes towards life, their inner struggles and explorations of identity in Hong Kong.

  • Zhang Yiling
    Director
  • Zhang Yiling
    Editors
  • Zhou Fangjia
    Editors
  • Lin Wanshan
    Editors
  • Zhou Fangjia
    Cameramen
  • Lin Wanshan
    Cameramen
  • Zhang Yiling
    Cameramen
  • Lin Wanshan
    Reporters
  • Zhang Yiling
    Reporters
  • Zhang Yiling
    Voiceover
  • Ruby Yang
    Advisors
  • Uli Gaulke
    Advisors
  • Roy Ching
    Advisors
  • Foon Lee
    Advisors
  • Sophie Li
    Advisors
  • Lyu Jingyi
    Special Thanks
  • Wang Zhenlin
    Special Thanks
  • Yang Yi
    Special Thanks
  • Wang Jing
    Special Thanks
  • Li Yue
    Special Thanks
  • Gilliam C. Hamilton
    Special Thanks
  • Katusha Jin
    Special Thanks
  • Sophia Jin
    Special Thanks
  • Lydia Jin
    Special Thanks
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    夜港
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    16 minutes 37 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 20, 2020
  • Country of Origin:
    Hong Kong
  • Country of Filming:
    Hong Kong
  • Language:
    Chinese
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes
Director Biography - Zhang Yiling

Director Zhang Yiling is a graduate student in journalism at the University of Hong Kong. She came from the coastal city Quanzhou in the southeast of China and has lived in Hong Kong for a year. During this time, she felt a very different society than she lived in the past 23 years. In this film, the director records her exploration and reflection of Hong Kong in a special period through an alien and even somewhat ostracized identity. Before this year, the director had no experience with filmmaking. 1 AM IN HONG KONG is her first movie

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

When I passed Centre Street that night, it was 12 o'clock. Standing at the highest point of the street, I saw an old man, about 60 years old, sitting on the stairs. He was facing the sea with an empty wine bottle by his side.

He did not move the whole time, and neither did I. Standing 10 meters behind him, I couldn't even see his face. But I felt a deep sense of loneliness. The loneliness was so strong that I could not leave.

I think it's a unique scene and atmosphere that belongs to late night. At this time, everything is quiet and the eyes of the world fall back on the individual. Emotions and stories are accepted by the darkness.

That's why I love walking at midnight.

I have witnessed a year of unrest in the city, and I am also looking for another look of the city beyond the protest and virus.

During the production of this documentary, I tried to talk to people late at night. In order to see as much of the city as possible, I have chosen to interview people in Cantonese, English, Mandarin and Minnan Dialect.

In this process of exploration, I saw loneliness. I saw life. I saw the epitome of what happens during the day at night, and I had a lot of thinking. In the end, I saw myself more clearly.

Through this film, I hope to show this process and the charm of Hong Kong at midnight.