Young Asian musicians can show divided Hong Kong how to connect, says filmmaker
Oscar-winning director Ruby Yang’s new film shows how orchestra players overcome their differences to make beautiful music
Hong Kong could draw a lesson from the qualities that have brought young musicians across Asia to perform together every summer for the past 26 years, says an Oscar-winning filmmaker.
Ruby Yang, who won the award in 2007 for a documentary on Aids in China, produced her latest opus on the Asian Youth Orchestra, a Hong Kong-based summer music camp launched in 1990 in which select young musicians from Asia rehearse and perform on tour over a period of six weeks.
“This documentary conveys a message of peace and friendship reflected among young orchestra players in their music-making, and that I think means something special to our society at present,” Yang said of her 40-minute film, In Search of Perfect Consonance, ahead of its premiere next month.
“There’s lot of uncertainty in Hong Kong and the problem would be eased if people could listen to each other and connect – just like the young musicians overcome language and cultural differences by listening to one another in making beautiful music.”
Commissioned by Hong Kong-based businessman Jim Thompson and sponsored by the Lee Hysan Foundation, filming began in March 2015 when the orchestra celebrated its 25th anniversary. Over 400 hours of film were shot to document the interaction of conductors, mentors, and players, including moments of laughter and tears, at rehearsals and on tour.