Augustine Mok
Augustine Mok Chiu-yu (right) is best known as a veteran social activist and co-founder of 70s Biweekly magazine, an influential anti-establishment publication. Now he has brought his activism to the screen, starring in Bangladeshi director Mamunur Rashid's film, Port Unknown, about two Chinese families caught amid the country's war of independence in 1971. The film, screening as part of the Hong Kong Asian Independent Film Festival tonight at the Grand Cinema, aroused much attention when it first aired on Bangladeshi TV on the country's liberation day.
What drove you to film in Bangladesh?
I am no stranger to Bangladeshi history and culture. In 1971, when the Bangladeshi liberation war broke out, we published a special issue of 70s Biweekly to support the newly independent country.
During a workshop for Asian theatre artists, I was introduced to Mamunur Rashid and finally I got a chance to talk to people from Bangladesh. Later I learned Mamunur and his theatre troupes also make TV dramas and films. In 2004, I suggested we make a film about the independence of Bangladesh.
Why do you tell a Bangladeshi independence story through the experiences of two Chinese families?
Bangladeshis are so overwhelmed by their country's independence stories that they have almost become bored. A story based on the Chinese community provides a fresh angle for Bangladeshis to re-examine the war - for the younger generation in particular. We wanted to reach out to the Bangladeshi community, initiate a re-examination of war and peace, introduce the life of Bangladeshi people in Hong Kong and work out how to build an inclusive society.
People are always in transition, always in the middle of migrating, especially the Chinese. The two Chinese families who left their country [in the film] were not sure where exactly they were going.
How was the shoot?
Mamunur and I had a long discussion about making Port Unknown in Thailand in 2004, and one year later our Hong Kong crew went to research and started shooting the film in Dhaka, Chittagong and Ragarmati. But we were soon caught up in a nationwide strike that totally sabotaged our filming process. We headed back to Hong Kong. When we were back, Foo Lo-bing, one of the core members of the crew and my best friend got sick and died of cancer. Early last year we decided to return to Bangladesh and finish the film in memory of Foo. We shot it on digital video and transferred it onto 35mm film.
What were the challenges of working with a Bangladeshi cast and crew?
None of the seven crew members from Hong Kong spoke Bengali. The biggest challenge was the misunderstandings caused by language and cultural differences. But we managed to work that out eventually. And although we love curry, having curry every day, all day was a disaster.
What's your next film?
For my next project, I want to tell a story about Hong Kong and Nepal - stories about the Gurkhas still living in Hong Kong. They arrived in Hong Kong during the British colonial period and never left. Their children face discrimination here in Hong Kong and adjustment problems back in Nepal. I find this kind of story most fascinating.
