Nostalgia for the Night
Oh, the allure of looking back and reminiscing for better days gone by… Nostalgia develops in us sentimental creatures for a multitude of reasons, be it dissatisfaction of the present, an impending doom for the future, or the painful realisation of past mistakes. The most poignant form of nostalgia materialises when the present has passed the point of no return. Force majeure and the ones that got away. Films on the list captured distinct era in the personal or societal past, that shine light on our inescapable present, for better or worse. Might we become better beings when we come out from the other side. “If we should weep when clowns put on their show, If we should stumble when musicians play, Time will say nothing but I told you so.” If I Could Tell You - W.H. Auden
8 films
Dream in Silence
The Edge of Night
KJ: Music and Life
Letter to the Young Intellectuals of Hong Kong
Grandma's Hairpin
Before the Box Gets Emptied
The Sea Within
Su Beng, the Revolutionist
Popular spotlights
Encore, Before the Goodbye
"My Bucket List" holds no grand dreams, only 100 little things yet undone, and a "see you tomorrow" that was never properly spoken. The same goes for "Encore: Before Saying Goodbye"—here, eternity is left unmentioned; there is only the desire to perform one last song for oneself before the lights go down. The scars of youth, the terror at the edge of the boxing ring, the wordless closeness between strangers, and the farewells quietly practiced in daily life—six films, each rehearsing the very same question: If only an encore remains, what sound do you wish to leave behind?