Editorial | Lessons to be learned from Hong Kong school film row

Films may become the talk of the town for good or bad reasons. In the case of the documentary involving award-winning director Mabel Cheung Yuen-ting and her alma mater Ying Wa Girls’ School, it has received more than its fair share of criticism.

The decade-long production tracking the stories of six adolescents against the backdrop of rapidly changing Hong Kong has become such a drama in itself that it has been pulled from cinemas pending settlement of a furious row. The sorry episode warrants deep reflection from all those concerned.

Originally said to be an “internal” project to help finance the reconstruction of the elite school, the documentary To My Nineteen-year-old Self has raised controversy following claims consent for a public screening had not been sought by some of those appearing in it.

One girl, who developed emotional issues, openly opposed its screening, and Olympic medal-winning cyclist Sarah Lee Wai-sze said she did not know footage of a 2016 interview with her had also been included.

Cheung later said public screenings would be suspended, and she apologised to the pupils, school and production team. Separately, a former principal involved in the project at the time also expressed regret at having created difficulties for both the pupils and school.

The emotional state of the girls involved can only be imagined. They signed up at a young age to bare their private lives and souls over the years for a school event that eventually escalated into a public disagreement.