Screening
Youth Category Finalist Showcase
Run of My Life
Tam Tsz-lok Douglas
Col / 2'18" / No dialogue and subtitles
This work vividly demonstrates Hong Kong's notoriously overworked students. With the corridor symbolising the timeline of a school day, the short film showcases tasks and challenges "thrown" at the protagonist as he runs for his life to the clock which displays the time when lessons end. Both surreal and dystopian, the perception of the film cannot be more perceptive.
Artist’s Statement
The lead character of this film references Nietzsche’s idea of eternal return, which I have applied to everyday reality in a dramatic way. I made this film to raise awareness about academic pressure that Hong Kong students face, to which I have added some philosophical musing so that audiences can reflect on their own lives and decide whether they, like the protagonist, are stuck in an endless cycle of repeated and meaningless labour.
This film was completed with the help of my good friends Hong Sumho and Leung Ka-hei, to whom I hereby express my gratitude.