Lau Kok-rui
Graduate, College of Business
Best New Director Award and Best Original Screenplay Award, 59th Golden Horse Awards
“My films are a presentation of my view of the world… the most important thing is to encourage people watching to think about different social phenomena.”
When Lau Kok-rui from Malaysia graduated from high school, he learned from his teacher that CityUHK offers full scholarship for overseas students. He gave it a try and successfully came to Hong Kong to study in College of Business in 2008, majoring in marketing.
"I had many interests when I was in school. I chose marketing at CityUHK because I was interested in advertising. The course covered aspects that are needed to develop in the industry including design, copywriting and business development." He was particularly impressed that there were a lot of group studies which helped establishing a good relationship with classmates, and also key to his grasp of Cantonese.
Lau Kok-rui loved watching movies when he was growing up in Malaysia, mostly Asian productions, and he was delighted to expand his knowledge of films from different countries and regions through the extensive movie collection in the CityUHK library where he spent his spare time.
After graduating in 2011, Mr Lau initially worked as a teaching assistant at a local university and as a crew member for advertising productions until he finally found his passion for filmmaking. After shooting some documentaries, he worked as a screenwriter and director for short films and TV programmes.
“My films are a presentation of my view of the world. Audiences may have their own interpretations, but to me, the most important thing is to encourage people watching to think about different social phenomena.”
His award-winning feature film, The Sunny Side of the Street, tells the story of two Hong Kong immigrants from different generations. He went to Hong Kong alone to study and live in a strange city, with almost no knowledge of Cantonese, he inevitably felt like an immigrant. In 2015, when he became aware of the media reported claims for non-refoulement protection against expulsion, he empathised with those people affected and inspired him to make a movie.
He is now concentrating on enhancing his filmmaking skills and refining his style. He plans to shoot future productions on the theme of family, hoping he can make his next film in Malaysia.
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