City University of Hong Kong (CityU) held a screening and director-sharing session on the movie Time Still Turns The Pages on 8 December. Mr Nick Cheuk Yick-him, Director of the film and a graduate of the CityU School of Creative Media was invited to share his experience. Mr Cheuk won the Best New Director award at the 60th Golden Horse Awards for the film.

The screening and sharing session attracted over 100 students, which was hosted by Dr Larry Ng Ching-wah, Director of Student Development Services. Also attending to show their support were Professor Henry Chung Shu-hung, Dean of Students and Dr Wilson Lam Kin, Director of Student Residence Office. The event aimed to promote the importance of mental health.

Time Still Turns The Pages was Mr Cheuk's first self-written and directed feature film. The story is about a teacher who finds an unsigned suicide note in the classroom. To prevent a tragedy, he tries to identify the student, but then he recalls his own childhood memories. The film also won the “Audience Choice Award” at the 60th Golden Horse Awards.

Mr Cheuk shared with the students the challenges and coping strategies for him in making the film. He said he believes that discussing suicide is a social taboo, but given the ongoing prevalence of this issue, it cannot be ignored. He said he hopes to raise awareness through the film, but the filming approach had to avoid causing panic. Mr Cheuk recalled that at one point, he was affected by the emotional script and felt lost. Fortunately, after talking with people around him and expressing his feelings, he became more positive and eventually completed the filming successfully.

The students who attended the event were enthusiastic, seeking to learn more about the filming details and the concept of the script from Mr Cheuk. He encouraged the students to express themselves more, care for others, and persist in pursuing their dreams, while finding happiness in the process.

Media enquiries: Cathy Choi, Communications and Public Relations Office, CityU (Tel: 3442 6403 or 6012 0695)