"Other than one studio, literally one, nobody was developing anything with a female lead. It just hit me like a ton of bricks. And I was so mad. And then I thought: Why am I so upset about this? Why don't I do something about it?" - Reese Witherspoon, Hollywood Actress and Producer
Last week saw the 69th annual Emmy Awards for television. And the award for biggest winners went to.....Women!.
The shows that took home the most awards largely starred; or were directed, written or produced by women. These included Big Little Lies, which shines a spotlight on domestic violence, and is produced by Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman; The Handmaid's Tale; and Veep.
As Witherspoon and Kidman stated that night, "It's been an incredible year for women on television...bring women to the front of their own stories, and make them the hero of their own stories." The groundbreaking wins of women are of particular note since Hollywood, in the wake of the #OscarSoWhite controversy, continues to face criticism for its lack of diversity.
Over on our side of the world, the role of women in Hong Kong action movies was recently showcased at Spain's Asian Summer Film Festival. At the Festival, Mr. Sam Hui, the Deputy Representative of Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Brussels, noted that martial arts literature and cinema are essential parts of Hong Kong culture. Actresses in action movies combine feminist strength, compassion, and beauty; and they often fight against injustice and corruption, he added.
The Festival presented a "Kung Fu Girls!" retrospective, comprising Lau Kar-leung's "My Young Auntie" (1981), Corey Yuen's "Yes Madam" (1985), David Chung's "Royal Warriors" (1986), David Chung's "Magnificent Warriors" (1987), Teresa Woo's "Iron Angels" (1987), Ching Siu-Tung's "Naked Weapon" (2002), and the current "Mrs K" by Ho Yuhang (Malaysia-Hong Kong, 2017), which showcases Hong Kong veteran Kara Hui as the housewife/martial arts-assassin female lead.
While we love seeing women in leading action hero roles in Hong Kong films, isn't there more to women's stories? The Hong Kong film industry is largely male-dominated. Yet, there are in fact a multitude of brilliant female directors - budding directors like Yan Yan Mak, Barbara Wong and Aubrey Lam and the incredible award-winning filmmaker Ann Hui.
At TWF we know that storytelling is a powerful tool to create social change. Our documentary, She Objects (directed by Nicola Fan and music score by Anna Lo) is the first film of its kind in Hong Kong. It explores how traditional and new forms of media create and exacerbate gender stereotypes, often with damaging consequences. And we hope the She Objects movement inspires the everyday as well as dramatic stories relevant to women in Hong Kong. For screening opportunities contact Spring Kok at Spring.Kok@twfhk.org.
Isn't it about time women were the heroes in our own stories?
As usual we would love to hear from you. Get in touch at Fiona.Nott@twfhk.org
Enjoy your week.
P.S. We are inspired by yesterday’s landmark win for gender rights in Hong Kong! The Court of Appeal unanimously ruled in favour of a female expatriate who appealed against the Immigration Department’s refusal to grant her a spousal visa on the grounds that Hong Kong doesn’t recognise same sex-unions. Read about it here.
