Opinion | Beijing film critic wins ADC prize for slamming Hong Kong film
Jia Xuanning, a 24-year-old Beijing Film Academy and Chinese University graduate, won the Hong Kong Arts Development Council’s first ever Critic’s Prize with a scathing critique about 2012 film Vulgaria.
Cross-border tensions on social media were stirred this week after a Beijing film critic slated a Hong Kong comedy film for being a work of “cultural garbage” that portrayed mainlanders negatively.
Jia’s 3,500 word essay titled “Gazing at the Anxiety of Hong Kong Film Through Vulgaria” won her the ADC’s Gold Prize on Monday, which came with a HK$50,000 cash reward.
“The thing I hate most about Vulgaria is that it claims to be a film produced specially for the Hong Kong people because it is what they want to watch,” Jia told reporters at the ADC awards ceremony. She said Hong Kong people deserved better films.
On Facebook, many Hongkongers were riled mainly because of Jia's mainland background, highlighting the recent rise in anti-mainland sentiment. “Hong Kong’s category-three films are just not for you [mainlanders], you should all go back and watch your category-four propaganda films about elite cadres,” said one user on Facebook.
Jia's review not only has a strong sense of criticism, but also creativity and unique opinion, allowing readers to rethink mainstream values of Hong Kong
