Synopsis
Set in Hong Kong, Eya is a shy teen who takes writing as a way to escape alienation, bullying, and loneliness. On the school fun day, Eya remains silent in the interview, but she is not the only one who finds life is too hard to bear. Everything is changed that morning.
Wong Wai Nap
Born in Hong Kong in 1986, Wong Wai Nap graduated from the School of Creative Media at City University of Hong Kong. His works Walker (2006), Distance (2008), Be with You (2009), The Sea Within (2014) has exhibited in various international film festivals. In 2012, he was selected by the Golden Horse Film Academy as one of the playwright-director. Latest work: That Morning (2018).
Director's statement
I lived a sad life in Hong Kong, while Hong Kong itself is a sad city. Almost 100 students took their own lives between 2015 and 2017. Among those who chose death over the tough reality, there were university students, while the youngest was only 10. In response to the deaths, authorities merely spend more on life promotion, while some people blame these students for being too weak to endure the pressure from school and society, and others simply avoid the topic of suicide. Nothing stops the student suicide rate rising. Students are not numbers, but people. Do we value them? The question strikes me, as an individual struggling with personal issues. After one’s death, we can never discover the real reasons behind suicidal thoughts, but what if we rewind the time? That Morning is a glimpse into the lives of a troubled high school student and the people around her. With unconventional forms of fictional narrative, real events and interviews, the film is a portrait of a young individual struggling with grades, family, sexuality as well as loneliness, all compressed into what happened to a young girl in a morning.
