Yat (Anthony Wong), a local taxi driver who has a strained relationship with his son, had illegally immigrated to Hong Kong in the 1970s. Hassan (Sahal Zaman) is a Pakistani refugee boy with hopes to immigrate to Canada with his family. When Hassan’s father dies in a car accident, he participates in criminal activities and becomes entangled with the police. Yat helps the young boy escape, while ironically, the policeman chasing after them is Yat’s son.

In The Sunny Side of the Street, two strangers of different ethnicities and from different generations form an unexpected son-and-father bond. Malaysian Chinese director Lau Kok-rui brings forward this charming piece injected with his own personal story and background as an immigrant to Hong Kong. The film not only reflects Lau’s own storytelling but reveals the hardship Pakistani families encounter in Hong Kong, raising awareness on the city’s marginalized communities. The film clinched three major awards at the 59th Golden Horse Awards, including Best Actor for Wong’s performance.

The screening on 26 March will be followed by a post-screening talk in Cantonese with director Lau Kok-rui and M+ Programme Coordinator KY Lung.

Lau Kok-rui (b. 1990, Malaysia) is a Hong Kong—based Malaysian writer-director. His works include short films Let’s Get Lost (2017), Have A Nice Day (2018), How High the Moon (2019), and Rootless in the City (2019), which were selected by various international film festivals. The Sunny Side of the Street is his first feature, which won script consultation service awards at the Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) Film Lab in 2019. Lau was also awarded Best New Director and Best Original Screenplay for the film at the 59th Golden Horse Awards.