‘Of course I’m scared’: outspoken actor Anthony Wong on his Hong Kong future, and acclaim for Still Human
- Wong won outstanding achievement award at the 21st Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy, for his role in Still Human, and film won festival’s top prize
- Actor doesn’t regret speaking out in support of Hong Kong democracy protesters, despite film roles drying up, but admits he has an escape plan ready
Hong Kong actor Anthony Wong Chau-sang was the toast of northern Italy this month, when he received the Golden Mulberry award for outstanding achievement at the 21st Far East Film Festival in the city of Udine.
Wong’s latest film, the low-budget drama Still Human, had its European premiere at the event, where it also won the festival’s top prize, voted for by festival attendees, as well as the Black Dragon Critics Award.
“It’s a miracle time in my life,” Wong told the Post at the event, which came weeks after he was awarded the best actor prize at the Hong Kong Film Awards. “In a very short time I have got a lot of awards.”
Still Human, produced by Fruit Chan Gor and directed by first-time filmmaker Oliver Chan Siu-kuen, depicts the unlikely relationship that develops between a wheelchair-using curmudgeon (Wong) and his new Filipino helper (first-time actress Crisel Consunji).
Wong was overcome with emotion as he took to the stage in Udine, accompanied by Oliver Chan and Consunji, dropping to his knees to salute the packed Teatro Nuovo Giovanni.
“It was a good story, a good script, talking about the disabled and helpers,” Wong says of the project, which is the latest in a string of socially conscious dramas by Hong Kong filmmakers in recent years. “It’s maybe the first time we have a Filipino actress in a movie, which should have happened a long time ago, because they are Hong Kong people too.”