The Last Breath田野裡的嘆息
Documentary / 53’11”
Above video is a short preview only
YIP Yuen Ching, Rain 葉沅晴
2020 BA Creative Media graduate
Abstract
After experiencing the land resumption conflict in 2016, the Ma Shi Po village now seems to calm down in this short moment which they can’t predict when the next storm is coming for them. There is still a needle buried deep in heart, waiting for it to come is the gradually approaching pressure pushing the needle into the heart until the field exhales the last breath.
Description
After experiencing the land resumption conflict in 2016, the Ma Shi Po village now seems to calm down in this short moment which they can’t predict when the next storm is coming for them. There is still a needle buried deep in heart, waiting for it to come is the gradually approaching pressure pushing the needle into the heart until the field exhales the last breath. The villagers still adhere to their living style in Ma Shi Po, especially the Au’s family. They’ve started up the Ma Po Po Community Farm for 10 years, hoping to make more people understand the problem of local agriculture and the importance of farmland to Hong Kong.
Artist Statement
I have been living in rural in the north of Fanling in the New Territories since I was a child. The development of the northeast of the New Territories made it hard for us to escape the crisis of land resumption. However, we progressively began to accept the fact that the village will disappear. I found that our mentality has begun to change, as if the government could give us a place to live wherever it is just a tiny space. However, people in Ma Shi Po village have experienced various struggles side by side to advocate “not emigrate or demolish.” They have not given up this belief in this ten years. They want more than just only have a space to live, but also the possibility of life. I began to understand the persistence, faith and unity of the people in Ma Shi Po Village towards their homeland, which are what I lack. So I want to study more about their lives. I started with the Au’s Family and wanted to explore their situation after ten years of struggle, the family, the inheritance of three generations, the concept of Ma Po Po Community Farm and the importance of local agriculture to Hong Kong. I hope that this documentary video is not just a record, but showing a possibilities and attitude of life.
I don’t think documentary must have to shoot in a rigid way which we mostly see in the television. I want to do a different style of documentary, focusing the beauty of nature, capture the moody moment and create a film-like documentary. In the whole production, I used old film lenses to shoot the video, which came out a different style of shooting, produce a special mood and raw texture at the result.
