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THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET 白日青春

US Premiere

2022 | 1hr 53min | In Cantonese and Urdu with Chinese and English subtitles | Dir Kok Rui Lau

Description


Hong Kong is a midway point for refugees from all over the world, there are thousands of asylum seekers in this city waiting for the government to grant them refugee status. Sadly, waiting could last for more than 10 years.

HASSAN is a Pakistani kid, who arrived in Hong Kong even when he wasn’t born and still waiting for refugee status. Born and raised in Hong Kong, yet he knows that his future doesn’t belong here. His only dream is to move to the United States with his family, and the dream is shattered when his father is accidentally killed by a Hong Kong local in a car crash.

YAT was a refugee from mainland China to Hong Kong during the 1970s, and now as a local taxi driver. He has a bad relationship with his policeman son, HONG. Yat doesn’t get along well with his son because Hong was born and raised in Shenzhen with his mother. They didn’t live together until Hong moved to Hong Kong. Yat doesn’t spend time to father his son, and now the two have not properly communicated since Yat’s wife died.

Losing the guidance of a father, Hassan has no choice but to join a mafia organized by refugees. He gets into trouble during a crackdown by the police. However, the witness Yat gives his hand to Hassan. Yat not only assists Hassan to escape from arrest but also promises to help Hassan fleeing to Taiwan for security. Ironically, the policeman chasing after them on the road is Yat's son, Hong. Yat and Hassan build a special relationship during the journey. After breaking away from Hong’s hunting, Hassan starts to build trust in Yat as a father figure.

Nevertheless, he discovers that Yat is actually the murderer of his father. Should he continue the journey with Yat?

Screening Time


Director’s Bio


Kok Rui LAU is a Hong Kong-Based Malaysian writer-director. He has participated in Golden Horse Film Academy in 2019. His shorts, Let's Get Lost (2017), Have A Nice Day (2018), How High The Moon (2019) and Rootless in the City (2019), were selected by various film festivals, such as Asian American International Film Festival (USA), Taipei Golden Horse International Film Festival (Taiwan) and Fresh Wave International Short Film Festival (Hong Kong).

  • Sunday, April 30, 2023, 7:00 PM

    Starlight Whittier Village Cinemas

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  • Friday, April 28, 2023, 8:00 PM

    The Chabot, Castro Valley, CA

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Pre-Featured Short

WHITE NIGHT

2020 | 21 min | In Cantonese, Mandarin, and Taiwanese with Chinese and English subtitles | Dir King Kan Chow

Synopsis:
Tin On moved from Hong Kong to Taiwan suddenly at January 2020. She found out the light in the apartment seems to be broken. The landlord asked her neighbor, Yi Ming, to fixed it. However, Tin On did not bear with him. Yi Ming noticed there are something wrong with her. So he is getting closed to her to see what happened.


Pre-Featured Short

NIGHT IS YOUNG

2020 | 26 min | In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles | Dir Zune Kwok

Synopsis:
Since June 2019, Hong Kong has turned a new page. Political violence, protests and police brutality filled the city. This film is about a night shift experience of a taxi driver amid the social unrest.

Director’s Bio:
KWOK Zune, born in 1985, Hong Kong. Zune has worked as an independent film director since graduating from local film school in 2009. His films are grounded with actualities and real characters. And received various awards in local and international competitions. Main works include: A Day in a Life (2008), Homecoming (2009), Downstream (2012), Ten Years (2015), and Night is Young (2020).