[2026.03.13] DIRECTOR TRACY CHOI ADMIST LGBT SUBJECT HAS SCARED OFF INVESTORS

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Elizabeth Tang feels the Hong Kong Film Awards nomination is particularly meaningful

Tracy Choi directs GIRLFRIENDS in a semi-biographical manner

Elizabeth Tang and Han Ning play a couple and have many intimate scenes

Fish Liew and Jennifer Yu jokingly complain about their lack of an "intimacy director"
courtesy of mingpao.com

Film industry newcomer Elizabeth Tang To with her first starring film GIRLFRIENDS (NUI HAI BUT PING FAN) has been nominated for the 44th Hong Kong Film Awards Best Supporting Actress and Best New Performer. Receiving the industry's recognition, she felt very encouraged. Macau director Tracy Choi Yan Sin in order to help Tang To and Taiwan actress Han Ning get into passion and bed scenes hired Taiwan's "intimacy director", and joked that co-stars and Best Actresses Jennifer Yu Heung Ying and Fish Liew Chi Yu complained out of jealousy. Tang To said that after receiving directing, her three intimate scenes with Han Ning set off sparks and were like fish in the water. Choi Yan Sin admitted that GIRLFRIENDS involved LGBT subject, investors worried about box office so she ran into difficulties with raising financing early on, fortunately in the end the production was able to start successfully.

SISTERHOOD (GWUT MUI)'s director Choi Yan Sin in a semi-autobiographical manner shot GIRLFRIENDS to tell the extraordinary journey of an ordinary's exploration of love and growing, inviting Liew Chi Yu, Yu Heung Ying, Tang To, Han Ning, Natalie Hsu (Hui Yan Yi) and Eliz Liao to star and shooting on location in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao. Tang To last year with GIRLFRIENDS was nominated for the 62nd Golden Horse Awards Best Supporting Actress in Taiwan, this year she has been nominated for the Hong Kong Film Awards Best Supporting Actress and Best New Performer. She said that she was very encouraged to receive recognition for her first starring feature from the industry. "Last time with the Golden Horse Award nomination, I spent one week's tie to digest that happy feeling. I happened to run into work in Thailand at the time and rewarded myself with a mango sticky rice. This time with the Hong Kong Film Award nomination has been different again, Hong Kong is the place I grew up in so it has another meaning. When the nomination was announced, it happened to be the Lunar New Year so I rewarded myself with several pans more of turnip cake and New Year rice cake."

Tang To rated her own performance as still lacking and having room for improvement, she did not dare to talk about her chances of winning. She felt that she was already very lucky to have a film contract, just like winning the gigantic top prize of the New Year Snowball lottery. She thanked Choi Yan Sin for giving her the opportunity, saying if she would win she would take the director to dinner to repay her. Aside from Tang To, the creator of the GIRLFRIENDS theme song ORDINARY PEOPLE Panther Chan Lui has also been nominated for Best Original Film Song. Choi Yan Sin was happy for Chan Lui and praised her for being talented. "She was also on the SISTERHOOD team. Last time she has already helped with writing the theme song. This time I invited her to collaborate again, she very quickly agreed and even took care of the music and the lyrics. The lyrics closely followed the story and the style of the song was compatible to the end of the film. I hope to be able to work with her long term."

Choi Yan Sin revealed that during the novel coronavirus pandemic, she examined her creative direction and suddenly thought of making a story related to her own growing up. GIRLFRIENDS' original draft screenplay wrote about her feeling for different cities and conditions at different ages. "I chronicled being 17 in Macau where I was born and raised, observed by all the neighbors and the feeling of not being able to be myself. At 22 I went to study in Taipei, I was very free but felt lost. At 34 I came to Hong Kong and faced the distress and pressure at work and relationships. As screenwriters, producer and actors joined in, the plot combined different elements and not just starting from my own experience and feeling alone." The film involved the LGBT subject. She admitted that she ran into difficulties with raising financing early on. "Investors may not feel the box office would be very ideal, thus they hesitated and cautiously considered. Luckily in the end I found financing from several places."

Choi Yan Sin asked 3 actors to play different stages of the "girl" Ah Yan in the film. "I hope everyone would be able to relate to the story because of the girls with different faces. I believe everyone has some of the experiences while growing p." To Tang played the 22 year old Ah Yan, and Choi Yan Sin praised her for a convincing and very charming performance. She revealed hat at first she was drawn to To Tang's crew cut photo on social platform, so she asked her and Han Ning to audition together. She thought that they were both very suitable and confirmed them to play an intimate couple, but before the shoot began they had some concerns. "They didn't know each other well, and both warm up slowly. To get into the roles in a short time and challenge passion and bed scenes, everyone were a little worried. So I decided to use the professional 'intimacy director' who is popular in Taiwan for intimate scenes to help them, and discover the result was tremendous." She revealed that Liew Chi Yu and Yu Heung Ying complained that she was playing favorites and asked why they did not receive any instruction from the "intimacy director". "I have listened to them. Last time when we made SISTERHOOD (GWUT MUI) knew they wanted to play a couple, so this time I matched them up. Liew Chi Yu and Yu Heung Ying have known each other for man years, and their performance already has chemistry."

Tang To praises her co-star Han Ning for her easy going performance and being a good partner. The "intimacy director" also helped her and Han Ning create sparks. "At first when I got this role I felt it was very demanding, luckily the costume helped me get into the role. The first encounter with the 'intimacy director' taught me and Han Ning to establish trust of touching each other, from which I benefitted a lot. For the three intimate scenes in the film, before rehearsal we have already communicate how to perform them. Like remembering the marks in action scenes, we were able to be like fish in the water during the shoot. When we shot the first and the third intimate scene, we respectively express passion and the love hate relationship. It was very unforgettable."