Last night, I attended the London East Asia Film Festival 2023 and watched a Hong Kong movie titled <Mad Fate>. As soon as I stepped into the cinema, an air of familiarity enveloped me, making it far from an ordinary movie-going experience.
Firstly, the atmosphere within the cinema immediately gave me a unique sense of belonging. Ads from Invest Hong Kong and Cathay Pacific played on the screen, creating a warm ambiance. Adding to the exotic allure, a bartender from Hong Kong was specially invited to perform a cocktail-making demonstration outside the cinema. All of this was made possible because the screening was an exclusive event hosted by Invest Hong Kong and the East Asia Film Festival, specifically dedicated to Hong Kong cinema. Most of the staff outside the cinema and audiences in the cinema were from Hong Kong and spoke Cantonese, which added to my feeling of familiarity and security.
After the movie, I happened upon a British individual near the exit. At first, I didn’t pay much attention until he asked me in fluent Chinese, “What did you think of the movie?” I was stunned. Upon further conversation, I learned he had lived in Shanghai for three years and had a deep interest in Chinese culture. He could even list some of his favorite Chinese movies, which took me by surprise.
This experience reinforced my understanding of how identity and a sense of belonging are established and affected across different cultural and geographical contexts. It provided a valuable case study for my research project, further clarifying the diverse means through which identity and belonging can be explored and understood.