Pakistani woman used to hide at home; now she speaks proudly for her community in Hong Kong with role in movie Our Days in 6E
Ivy Sabba struggled to fit in when she arrived from Pakistan as a child, but she is now helping other ethnic minority youngsters overcome similar challenges
Ivy Sabba used to spend hours every day hiding at home and watching television as a way to cope with the overwhelming culture shock she experienced after moving to Hong Kong from Pakistan 23 years ago.
But the 28 year old, who recently appeared in Hong Kong movie Our Days in 6E, now proudly speaks for the city’s 18,000-strong Pakistani community through the feature film.
The movie tells the story of a group of pupils, some of whom are non-ethnic-Chinese, in class 6E at a Tuen Mun secondary school in the New Territories, and shows how they deal with racial conflicts. It is directed by Checkley Sin Kwok-lam, best known for producing The Legend Is Born – Ip Man.
Sabba, who plays a social worker, said filming the movie reminded her of the tough days when she first arrived and settled in Tuen Mun. At that time she was one of only a small handful of ethnic minority children in the neighbourhood.
“I used to think I was the only ethnic minority child in the area, ” Sabba said. “I didn’t know Cantonese or English, and there was no one I could talk to apart from my family.