Hong Kong Instagram photo show to aid Nepal quake victims
Hongkonger whose boyfriend was caught up in disaster took up his idea of holding exhibition of photos from social media site to raise money for survivors
Fear overtook Elaine Li in Hong Kong on the afternoon of April 25, when the advertising art director learned of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Nepal. She had visited the country twice and fallen in love with its culture and people, but there was something very personal at stake: her boyfriend is Nepali, and he was in Kathmandu when the quake hit. He was unharmed, but had a major story to tell. "Hearing his first-hand experience of the quake made me really want to help," Li says.
Her boyfriend, Prasan, suggested she raise funds for Nepal by doing what she loves most: photography.
The result is this weekend's "Instagrammers for Nepal", a photo exhibition at Lightstage Art & Events Space in Sheung Wan that will donate all of its proceeds to the Nepal Youth Foundation. As the name suggests, the photos on display are mostly shot with a smartphone and all were originally posted on the popular photo site.
Being one of the organisers of Instameet — a meet-up group for local Instagram enthusiasts — Li found all the participating photographers through her "Instagram connections". The 18 photographers come from all over the globe, including Denmark, Tibet and Kenya.
Aaron Kwok Fu-shing and director Ringo Lam Ling-tung are set to appear at the 14th New York Asian Film Festival. Kwok will be there for the North American premiere of his latest film, , while Lam will receive the festival's Lifetime Achievement Award.
This year's festival will also feature the North American premiere of , the directorial debut of Chinese actor Chen Jianbin that earned him the best director trophy at the recent Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan. The film, about a shepherd's attempt to bribe police to release his son from prison, has been banned in China after lead actor Wang Xuebing was arrested on possession of drugs in March.
