Drifting (2021 film)

2021 Hong Kong film by Jun Li

Drifting

Official film poster

Traditional Chinese| 濁水漂流
Jyutping| Zuk6 Seoi2 Piu1 Lau4
Directed by| Jun Li
Written by| Jun Li
Produced by| Mani Man
Starring| Francis Ng
Loletta Lee
Tse Kwan-ho
Cecilia Choi
Cinematography| Leung Ming Kai
Edited by| Heiward Mak
Jun Li
Music by| Wong Hin-yan

Production
companies

mm2 Entertainment
Medialink
With You

Distributed by| mm2 Entertainment

Release dates

* February 2021 (2021-02) (IFFR)
* 3 June 2021 (2021-06-03) (Hong Kong)

Running time

| 112 minutes
Country| Hong Kong
Language| Cantonese

Drifting (Chinese: 濁水漂流) is a 2021 Hong Kong drama film directed and written by Jun Li. Starring Francis Ng, Loletta Lee and Tse Kwan-ho, the film is based on a 2012 actual court case involving homeless people in Sham Shui Po.[1]

The film was selected for Big Screen Competition at 2021 International Film Festival Rotterdam, and made its Asian premiere at the 45th Hong Kong International Film Festival before its theatrical release on 3 June 2021.[2]

## Plot

[edit]

Ho Kei-fai ("Fai") is released from prison and returns to Tung Chau Street in Sham Shui Po, one of the poorest districts in the territory, and rejoins his fellow street sleepers. One day, without prior notice, the police and cleaners vacate their sleeping place and forcibly throw their belongings into a rubbish truck, despite their protest.

The group manages to build wooden huts under a nearby flyover as their new home. Social worker Miss Ho assists the street sleepers to file a lawsuit against the government, demanding both compensation for their loss and an official apology.

Among the residents of the wooden huts are drug addicts: Master, a Vietnamese boat person; Dai Shing, an electrician; Chan Mui, a dish washer; and Lan, a paraplegic person. After a long wait, Chan Mui and Lan move to a public apartment while a nonverbal young man, who is given the name Muk, joins the group. Fai gradually develops a bond with Muk but eventually leaves to reunite with his family. With Ho's help, Master reconnects online with his migrated family but commits suicide afterwards.

With the case being publicised, the group receives unwanted spotlight that focuses on their background stories instead of the injustice they are suffering. Amidst a long legal procedure, the government proposes a settlement. Fai is the only one who insists on an apology although all other members of the group are happy to accept the meagre compensation. This means the legal procedures have to continue.

One day, the police investigates an armed crime and discovers illegal arms inside the wooden huts, which causes them to announce a plan to demolish the huts. The street sleepers berate Fai for his stubbornness, but he stands his ground. As the deadline is approaching, they have no choice but to relocate. Left behind, Fai vaguely bids farewell to Miss Ho when she comes by with supplies for him.

Facing the coming winter nights alone and with the bleak prospect that the government will never apologise, Fai imagines conversing with his deceased son (appearing in the form of Muk), where it is implied that he may have accidentally caused his son's death and was jailed for this offence. Injecting drugs for one last time, Fai then sets the wooden huts on fire with himself inside.

The film ends with a reference to an actual case that happened in 2012 and comments that street sleepers are still facing unjust treatment.

## Cast

[edit]

* Francis Ng as Ho Kei-fai (Fai; 何奇輝)
* Tse Kwan-ho as Master (老爺)
* Loletta Lee as Chan Mui (陳妹)
* Cecilia Choi as Social worker Ms Ho (何姑娘)
* Chu Pak Hong as Dai Shing (大勝)
* Baby Bo as Lan (蘭姑)
* Will Or as Muk (木仔)
* Yu Mo-lin as Sister Hoi (開姐)
* Cecilia Yip as Muk's mother
* Zenni Corbin as Hak (黑仔)

## Production

[edit]

Flyover above Tung Chau Street

The director and storywriter Jun Li interviewed the homeless people and wrote an article on the clearance on 15 February 2012 when he was studying journalism. He came up with the idea of wooden houses when working on another film project in 2016, and started writing the scripts in 2018.[3]

When the filming took place in 2019, Hong Kong was undergoing an unprecedented social movement, which inspired Li to write the current ending.[3] Most of the scenes were shot in Sham Shui Po, and the wooden huts were a recreation of street sleepers'. The crew wanted to set the scene on Tung Chau Street where the actual clearance took place, but the application was rejected by the government, which prompted them to choose a filming site under a nearby flyover. Due to the works already done on constructing the wooden huts, the filming took place on schedule despite the social movement.[4]

## Release

[edit]

The film was selected for Big Screen Competition at 2021 International Film Festival Rotterdam, and was screened at the 45th Hong Kong International Film Festival and the 23rd Far East Film Festival. It was released to the public on 3 June 2021.[2][1]

## Accolades

[edit]

Year  | Award  | Category  | Recipient  | Result

|
|
|
|

2021  | 58th Golden Horse Awards[5] | Best Narrative Feature | Drifting | Nominated
Best Director | Jun Li | Nominated
Best Leading Actor | Francis Ng | Nominated
Best Supporting Actor | Tse Kwan-ho | Nominated
Will Or | Nominated
Best Supporting Actress | Loletta Lee | Nominated
Best Adapted Screenplay | Jun Li  | Won
Best Cinematography | Leung Ming-kai  | Nominated
Best Makeup & Costume Design  | Albert Poon  | Nominated
Best Original Film Score  | Wong Hin-yan  | Nominated
Best Film Editing | Heiward Mak, Jun Li | Nominated
Best Original Film Song  | "Drifting"
Lyricist: Wong Hin-yan
Composer: Wong Hin-yan
Performer: Wong Hin-yan  | Nominated
2022 | 28th Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award | Best Film | Drifting | Nominated
Films of Merit | Won
Best Director | Jun Li | Nominated
Best Screenplay | Nominated
Best Actor | Will Or | Nominated
40th Hong Kong Film Awards[6] | Best Film | Drifting | Nominated
Best New Director | Jun Li | Nominated
Best Actor | Francis Ng | Nominated
Best Supporting Actor | Will Or | Nominated
Tse Kwan-ho | Nominated
Best Supporting Actress | Loletta Lee | Nominated
Best New Performer | Will Or | Nominated
Best Screenplay | Jun Li | Nominated
Best Art Direction | Albert Poon  | Nominated
Best Original Film Score | Wong Hin-yan | Nominated
Best Original Film Song | "Drifting" by Wong Hin-yan  | Nominated

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Drifting". Far East Film Festival 23. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
2. ^ a b Linnarz, Rouven (5 April 2021). "HKIFF45 Showcases Drifting With Asian Premiere". asianmoviepulse. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
3. ^ a b Kwong, Wilson (23 February 2021). "International Film Festival Rotterdam 2021: Interview with Director & Writer Jun Li of DRIFTING". Film Inquiry. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
4. ^ Wong, Nic (11 June 2021). "《濁水漂流》美術總監潘燚森：想盡量呈現真實，就要放低美學". Art and Piece. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
5. ^ "Nominees & Winners of 58th Golden Horse Awards". Executive Committee of Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival. 5 October 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
6. ^ "List of Nominees and Award Winners". Hong Kong Film Awards. 16 February 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* 濁水漂流 Drifting on Facebook
* Drifting at the Hong Kong Movie DataBase
* Drifting at IMDb