[2022.07.08] HEADMASTER FRANCIS NG SHOWS HIS FATHERLY LOVE

courtesy of mingpao.com

The Media Asian Film SEPTET (CHUT YUN LOK DUI) gathered seven Hong Kong master class directors Sammo Hung Kam Bo, Ann Hui On Wa, Patrick Tam Ka Ming, Yuen Woo Ping, Johnnie To Kei Fung, Tsui Hark, and the late Ringo Lam Lan Tung, each drew straw for an era to direct a story about Hong Kong and together performed this movie that was filled with Hong Kong nostalgia.

The Hui On Wa directed HEADMASTER (HAU JEUNG) took place at a rooftop school in the 60s. Francis Ng Chun Yu played the headmaster, Sire Ma Choi played Ms. Wong. They were fond of each other and shut their feeling to themselves. HEADMASTER borrowed from the memory of a retired elementary school headmaster, recalling the 1961 educational past. She said, "This is a love story. I feel this love is very able to represent the reserved expression of feelings among the previous generation, so I chose this story. After the production completed the feeling was rather decent, because I made a subject that I really liked."

Ng Chun Yu played a headmaster for the first time, full of patience for the child actors who played the elementary school students in the film. The child actors had no acting experience, thus before each shoot, Chun Yu and Director Ann would explain to them in detail and rehearse. The child actors were still young, sometimes they would not understand what the production demanded. Already a father, Chun Yu would patiently explain to them in ways that they would understand and show his fatherly love. The headmaster role had to span 40 years, so Chun Yu had to put on aging make up. With his Best Actor level acting, he successfully brought this elderly headmaster to life.