To farmers and fishermen, the land and the sea are not just places of work; their lives and families are inseparable from these landscapes and seascapes. As constant urban development encroaches on natural terrains and local agricultural industries decline, farmers and fishermen have no choice but to change how they live. The three works in this screening turn their lenses on people coping with these changes in their ways.

Director Chau Man-kit's 2020 documentary A Hong Kong Farmer’s Lot offers a glimpse into the life of a farmer who worked in the fields with his father when he was young. After spending time in the city as an adult, he returns to the countryside to take over the family’s business and learns the essence of making a living from the land. Fredie Chan’s The Fishermen's Discourse (2013) follows two local fishermen as they share stories from their past and comment on the impact of land reclamation on the harbour and the people whose livelihoods depend on the sea. Wong Wai-nap's The Sea Within (2014) portrays a fishing couple’s takes on reality, and the struggle boat people such as them face with the decline of the local fishing industry.

The screening on 15 April will be followed by a post-screening talk with directors Chow Man-kit and Wong Wai-nap in Cantonese.

The screening on 23 June will be followed by a post-screening talk with director Fredie Chan in Cantonese. The talk will be moderated by M+ Assistant Curator of Moving Image Francisco Lo.

Chau Man-kit graduated from the University of Hong Kong with a degree in journalism in 2016 and from the School of Film and Television at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in 2021, majoring in directing. His documentary A Hong Kong Farmer’s Lot (2020) was selected for the 2020 Hong Kong International Documentary Festival.

Fredie Chan worked as a current affairs programme producer at Radio Television Hong Kong before focusing on independent documentaries in 2009. His works Media Digest on Anti-Express Rail Link Movement (2009) and The Way of Paddy (2013) were invited to screen at international film festivals. In 2019, he was awarded a fellowship to work with community organisations in New York City on art education programmes. Chan obtained his master’s degree in filmmaking from Edinburgh College of Art at the University of Edinburgh and has been active in local documentary productions.

Wong Wai-nap graduated from the School of Creative Media at the City University of Hong Kong specialising in moving image and film. In 2012, he participated in the 4th Taipei Golden Horse Film Academy development programme, collaborating with other young filmmakers and established industry mentors. His video works Walker (2007), Distance (2008), Be With You (2009), and The Sea Within (2014) were invited to various international film festivals. The Sea Within won the 2014 Fresh Wave Best Film Award (Open Division).