Private Project

A Missing Scene from Floral Princess: An untold suicide of the last Ming emperor

Reenacting the suicide episode of the last Ming emperor, Chong-zhen from the classic Cantonese Opera Floral Princess, this experimental short film blending Cantonese Opera and contemporary dance elements reveals the journey of the defeated emperor accompanied by his faithful eunuch, Wang Sing-yan, on their way to the summit of Coal Hill to end their lives. Apart from inviting new perspectives towards their ambiguous queer overtones, it also explores the crossroads of life and death, authority and obedience, love and sacrifice, power and duty, that befall under the traditional patriarchy.

  • Kitty Yeung
    Director
  • Elysa Wendi
    Producer
  • Samuel Chai
    Producer
  • Yuri Ng
    Producer
  • Ix WONG
    Key Cast
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    縊
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Short
  • Runtime:
    25 minutes 24 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 12, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    80,000 HKD
  • Country of Origin:
    Hong Kong
  • Country of Filming:
    Hong Kong
  • Language:
    Yue Chinese (Cantonese)
  • Shooting Format:
    4K / Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Jumping Frames - Hong Kong International Movement-image Festival 2023
    Hong Kong
    Hong Kong
    September 12, 2023
    World Premiere
  • ifva Awards
    Hong Kong
    Hong Kong
    March 8, 2024
    Silver Award
Director Biography - Kitty Yeung

Kitty Yeung, a Hong Kong filmmaker and artist, is recognised for her experimental and stylised imagery and sound. With her background as the former Lead Producer at Nowness Asia and as the founder of production company Pissbaby and art collective 135YCS, she expresses her observations and emotions through imaginative storytelling.

Through her films and artistic projects, Kitty Yeung weaves together intricate narratives that blend reality and imagination. She also amplifies voices that are often marginalised or overlooked, and raises awareness and encourages dialogue around important societal issues.

Her creative endeavours have received recognition and have been showcased in various venues and platforms, including the Hong Kong Sundance Film Festival, Tai Kwun Contemporary, Asia Art Archive, ifva Awards, NOWNESS, I-D JAPAN, ELLE HK, and more.
She received her Bachelor of Social Science with Honours, First Class, from The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), majoring in Journalism and Communication (Creative Media), minoring in Sociology.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The elaborated aesthetics and body movements of traditional Cantonese opera have always intrigued me. One particular masterpiece that has captured my heart is Floral Princess, portraying a strong female lead Princess Chang-ping, despite a strong patriarchal framework, defies traditional gender roles to pursue her love. I wonder if there’s more to this tale that remains unexplored. Through collaborating with Cantonese Opera artist Jason Kong, I learned that the original script has omitted the suicide scene of Emperor Chong-zhen, leaving many questions unanswered. These ambiguities sparked a desire to explore alternative narratives within this traditional Chinese framework, to look for small gaps, especially towards the emperor-eunuch relationship, that’s not heterosexual under traditional patriarchy, to offer new perspectives by filling the unexplored territories.