The lesson

When You Left Me on That Boulevard teaches how identity is not static but flexible and evolving; that it is influenced by multiple factors such as culture, history, family and our personal experiences. These factors shape how we see, connect and express ourselves in different contexts. Our identity can change with new situations, challenges and opportunities we encounter in life, and it is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon that reflects human diversity.

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Hong Kong film director Derek Tsang directed Better Days (2019), an adaptation of the youth literature novel by the popular Chinese author Jiu Yuexi. The film made history as the first Hong Kong film by a local director to receive an Oscar nomination for Best International Feature Film.

The film tells the story of Chen Nian, a high school girl who suffers from severe bullying and academic pressure, and Liu Beishan, a teenage street thug who becomes her protector and friend. It examines the themes of friendship, love, violence, justice and sacrifice in the context of the Chinese gaokao, the country’s national college entrance exam.

The lesson

The film conveys how friendship can be a powerful source of support and comfort in times of hardship. The two main characters find refuge and courage in each other’s presence despite their different backgrounds and personalities. They support each other through their struggles and challenges by showing genuine care and loyalty. The film also depicts how friendship can motivate us to be brave, compassionate and selfless.

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Chinese filmmaker Guo Fan, also known as Frant Gwo, directed The Wandering Earth, China’s first big-budget science fiction film. The nationally acclaimed production became one of the country’s highest-grossing films of all time.

The film is based on a short story by Liu Cixin, a renowned Chinese science fiction writer. It depicts a possible future where humanity faces an existential threat of the Sun becoming a red giant, where it grows so large that it engulfs and destroys other planets including the Earth. To save humanity, the world’s governments build giant engines into the Earth to propel the planet out of the solar system and towards a new star.

The lesson

The film conveys a lesson about how humanity can achieve amazing feats of engineering, unity and cooperation when confronted with a common threat. It also demonstrates how people are willing to sacrifice for the greater good of humanity.

Chinese crosstalk performer, comedian and actress Ling Jia made her feature film debut with Hi, Mom (2021), a comedy-drama that pays tribute to her late mother. The film became the second highest-grossing film in China and the highest-grossing film by a female director worldwide. The film is inspired by Ling’s experience of losing her mother and is a homage to her memory.

It narrates the story of Jia Xiaoling, a young woman who travels back in time after her mother, Li Huanying, dies in a car accident. She befriends her mother, who is then a factory worker and tries to change her fate by setting her up with a wealthy man. But she soon discovers that her actions have unforeseen consequences for herself and her family.

The lesson

The film unveils the powerful bond a mother and daughter can have, even across time and space. Jia Xiaoling loves her mother deeply and regrets not being a good daughter to her in the present, so she strives to make her happy and give her a better life when she travels back in time. Li Huanying also loves her daughter unconditionally and supports her in whatever she does. Audiences are treated to heart-warming moments of joy, laughter and tears shared between the two.

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Filipino writer-director Kenneth Dagatan’s sophomore feature, In My Mother’s Skin (2023), is the first co-production between the Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan. It premiered at the Midnight Section of the Sundance Film Festival.

The horror-fantasy film is set in the Philippines in 1945 during a war. Tala, a 14-year-old girl, lives in a colonial house with her sick mother and younger brother. She encounters a mysterious fairy in the forest who offers to cure her mother’s illness with a magical insect. The insect becomes a parasite that transforms the mother into a flesh-eating monster, and Tala is forced to face the consequences of her choice and her family’s dark secrets.

The lesson

The lesson from this film is about how not to be so trusting of strangers, especially when they bear promises that seem too good to be true. The fairy initially seems to be a kind and beautiful creature, but in fact, is a cunning and evil being that feeds on human flesh and misery. She tricks Tala with false promises and lies and uses her as a pawn for her agenda. She also exposes that she has been behind many atrocities during the war.

See more honourees in Entertainment on the Gen.T List.

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