[2026.01.23] TIMOTHY YEUNG PUTS TRUE STORIES OF IMMIGRANT HARDSHIP ON THE BIG SCREEN

Director Timothy Yeung has seen the hardships of many family, friends and Chinese immigrants, and created FINCH AND MIDLAND through real life stories

Timothy Yeung remembers Anthony Wong adding lines to give the character more dimensions

Patrick Tam, Nina Paw, Theresa Lee and Harriet Yeung starred in FINCH AND MIDLAND
courtesy of mingpao.com

The new director Timothy Yeung Wing Kwong written and directed, Anthony Wong Chau Sun, Patrick Tam Yiu Man, Nina Paw Hee Ching, Theresa Lee Yi Hung, and Harriet Yeung Sze Man starred movie FINCH AND MIDLAND consisted of 4 units, telling the loneliness and helplessness of immigrant life, finally letting go of the burden, learning to cherish the people in front of you, feeling the warmth of the moment, and discovering that there are still moments worth celebrating. Grew up in Canada, Yeung Wing Kwong directed a feature film for the first time. Having witnessed the hardship of relatives, friends and Chinese immigrants, he made a film based on the true stories he personally experienced and interviewed. He admitted that there was pressure during filming, but he felt lucky to work with a group of outstanding Hong Kong actors.

Canadian-Chinese director Yeung Wing Kwong has seen the hardship of many relatives, friends and Chinese immigrants, so when he applied for a Canadian filming fund he made a film based on the real stories he personally experienced and interviewed. He was grateful that the script caught the eyes of producer Tsui Bo Wah, who even helped with the casting so that he could work with a group of excellent actors. He felt very lucky, "These actors are more experienced than me, of course there is pressure during filming. Yet I feel that every actor is very attentive as they create, the whole process is very enjoyable. Some moments I have entered the realm of forgetting myself." He remembered Wong Chau Sun and Harriet Yeung Sze Man adding special dialogues during filming, making the characters more three-dimensional and tense. "Chau Sun's last monologue, as well as the scene of the 50-year-old middle- aged woman Shrimp Head (Yeung Sze Man) taking care of her elderly mother Paw Hee Ching, reflect the mentality of the Chinese. These two scenes have triggered hot debates within the audience. I hope even more viewers would go to the movies and support it, so it would have a good box office."

Wong Chau Sun played Tony, the factory manager in the film. Because his wife passed away AND his son was not around, he lived lonelily. He also suddenly lost his job. One day a youth broke into his home, from him he gained some level of comfort. Wong Chau Sun revealed that after reading the script, he was originally interested in the Patrick Tam Yiu Man played role of a singer but felt that it was not suitable. "I can only play Tony, who lives a depressed life." In the film he interpreted the entire range of emotions and was praised for being natural, detailed, and touching. Wong Chau Sun joked, "I have some experience in acting and I have won several awards, so I should be able to hand in my homework. I didn't deliberately design the performance. Because many changes would take place on the set, such as the director having different requirements last minute, scene changes and co-star communication, etc., the design in advance may not be useful. Even when he was working on big director Johnnie To Kei Fung's movies in the past this was the case. As an actor you need to adapt to the situation and rely on on-the-spot performance." He spoke English dialog in the entire film. Although he was familiar with the lines, he messed up the phone scene. After the cameras rolled, the director asked him to perform freely. He joked, "My mouth is crooked from all the talking."

Wong Chau Sun revealed that he has immigrated before filming THE UNTOLD STORY (BAK SIN FAN DIM YUN YUK CHA SIU BAO) when he was in his 30s, "I immigrated to Canada in the 1990s, I couldn't stand it. Life was so boring; except for cooking, walking in parks and large supermarkets, I didn't know what to do. The security was not very good at that time. I remember a friend in the seafood industry. He had a refrigerator in the garage, and the thief chiseled a big hole in the garage, carried away the whole refrigerator and no one knew. The stupid thief came to steal again the next day, and was immediately arrested by the police, how stupid! So I was very quickly deterred."

Wong Chau Sun said that he went to Toronto to shoot FINCH AND MIDLAND this time, maybe as he got older he felt that the environment was very comfortable, enjoyed quietly cooking, drinking, bird watching, and interacting with squirrels. He was reconsidering living in Canada, and at the same time facilitating the development of the European and American markets. With repeated setbacks in his show business career in recent years, he decided to transition starting 2026 from an entertainer to an artist. He revealed plans to go to the UK this year to perform stand-up comedy, as well as holding art exhibitions and teaching classes. He lamented, "Hong Kong doesn't have too many film jobs, for stage work venues are difficult to rent. There is no work."

Wong Chau Sun has frequently collaborated with new directors in recent years, previously working with director Oliver Chan Siu Guen on the movie STILL HUMAN (LUN LOK YUN) that won the Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Actor and New Director. Nominated for the Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actor for FINCH AND MIDLAND, Wong Chau Sun said, "Actually I want to work with a group of old folks, but they don't pay attention to me. So I can only play with the young people, as we played it turned out to be pretty fun!" He felt that the film industry is a new generation now, the old era has passed, no matter the Hong Kong market environment, filming methods, story content, and producers they all have changed. When working with young people, he did not to teach them how to do things. Instead he has been able to learn from young people how to survive in the new generation, "I have learned how to rejuvenate myself".