[2023.10.30] TIME STILL TURNS THE PAGES DIRECTOR LACKS CONFIDENCE IN WINNING THE GOLDEN HORSE AWARD

Siuyea Lo and Cheuk Yik Him were in the same City University class year, this time for TIME STILL TURNS THE PAGES one acts and the other directs
courtesy of mingpao.com

TIME STILL TURNS THE PAGES (NIN SIU YUT GEI) was new director Nick Cheuk Yik Him directed, Siuyea Lo Chun Yip, Ronald Cheng Chung Kei, Rosa Maria Velasco (Wai Law Sa) and child star Sean Wong Tsz Lok starred. It would be released on November 16th and has recently been selected for the 36th Tokyo International Film Festival "World Focus" section. Cheuk Yik Him and Lo Chun Yip earlier went to Tokyo to attend the Creative Hong Kong and the Film Development Fund, Asian Film Awards Academy and the Tokyo Film Festival organized "Asian Cinerama" event.

TIME STILL TURNS THE PAGES was about secondary school teacher Cheng Sir (Lo Chun Yip), who in order to find a student who was attempting to commit suicide in his class had to face his violence and regret filled childhood anew. After TIME's screening in Japan, Cheuk Yik Him and Lo Chun Yip had exchanges with the audience and discovered that their reviews of TIME was similar to those of Hong Kong viewers. Director Cheuk said that he did not stay at the cinema to observe responses. "I don't dare to watch my own work. During editing I have already watched it 10,000 times. After the Shanghai premiere in June I haven't watched it again; because the plot tug at the heart too much, I was afraid that I would be too upset for the post screening share." Director Cheuk admitted that he really liked Japan, all of his clothes were Japanese labels. When he arrived he wanted to immediately go to the convenience store for a beef cake. Siuyea has watched many Japanese films since childhood, participated in the Osaka Film Festival and worked on the Japanese film THE MURDERS OF OISO, so he felt Japan was very familiar.

TIME STILL TURNS THE PAGES would open in Hong Kong on November 16th. Earlier it was screened at the Shanghai International Film Festival, the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival and received audience praises; at the Golden Horse Awards next month, it would even vie for Best Narrative Feature, New Director, Supporting Actor (Wong Tsz Lok), Original Screenplay (Cheuk Yik Him) and Editing. As his directing debut receiving instant raves, Cheuk Yik Him said that it did not feel real to him. He said that growing up no one has ever praised him. "I can't digest (good reviews) at all, and I have absolutely no confidence in winning the Golden Horse Award. I only look forward to going to Taiwan and have exchanges with filmmakers."

Cheuk Yik Him stated that his parents were very strict. In school the pressure was enormous. "From the beginning of elementary to the end of secondary school I had the feeling of wanting to die"; he only got 8 points from the HKCEE, only until he got into an university to study film was he able to find his own self worth again. Siuyea said that the environment he grew up in was decent, but his school grades were very poor. He only got 10 points from the HKCEE. He had to return to school again to be able to get into the university.

Speaking of more small budget and realistic films among Hong Kong films in recent years and less films of past expertise genres like crime and mob action films, Cheuk Yik Him said that new directors like them had no experience at all to make them. For example TIME STILL TURNS THE PAGES focused on story and plot, the execution was not hard. Of course the production budget was also limited. He only hoped that in the future he would have the opportunity to make films of different genres. Currently in his mind he already had over 10 ideas that were waiting to be realized.