Lam Sheung-ting, a Year 2 student of the School of Creative Media (SCM) of City University of Hong Kong (CityU), has won the Best Film award at the 4th Fresh Wave Short Film Competition for his production, Merry Christmas.

Lam Sheung-ting majored in Cinematic Arts Studio at SCM, where he said he learnt all the requisite production skills including scriptwriting, editing, directing and filming. He had the opportunity in this contest to fully utilise all of his talents.

He said the film’s script was originally a course assignment but when it was completed he wanted to immediately turn it into a film. He thanked the SCM teachers for providing valuable and practical feedback during production. “Through this competition I learnt that I still have room for expansion in scriptwriting and shooting. I will work hard to further enhance my skills so as to make a contribution to the Hong Kong film industry,” Lam Sheung-ting said.

From preparation to post production, Lam Sheung-ting spent three months working on the project. He was thankful for his classmates’ valuable contribution throughout the production. He also learnt how to communicate with others as the production of a film is heavily reliant on teamwork.

Merry Christmas portrays a story of a scriptwriter meeting a young girl engaged in prostitution activities under the guise of compensated dating. Her experience prompts the scriptwriter to create a story about her. During this creative process, the scriptwriter’s mother suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and the delusion that the father of the scriptwriter has returned to their family. This compels the scriptwriter to direct his anger and memories of his father into the story of the young girl. In creating his film, Lam Sheung-ting has drawn upon daily life experiences and merged them into his creative process.

The 4th Fresh Wave Short Film Competition was co-organised by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council and Hong Kong International Film Festival Society. It aims to nurture young and talented creative professionals.

Media enquiries: Ellen Chan, Communications and Public Relations Office, CityU (3442 6808 or 9687 9841).