The Lift (2023)

[CCHU9070 - Making Movies: Creative Expression on Screen] [Semester 2, 2022-2023] [Instant Movie #2]

The Lift (2023)

3 min 50 sec | Essayistic Film, Comedy | In Cantonese with Cantonese subtitles

───────────────────

Student filmmaker: YIM Ka Ho
Director: YIM Ka Ho
Writer: YIM Ka Ho
Editor: YIM Ka Ho
Cinematographer: YIM Ka Ho
Sound design: YIM Ka Ho
Cast: Victor WONG, Oscar YIU, Jacky WONG
Narrator: YIM Ka Ho

───────────────────

Synopsis:
As the lift doors slowly open, a familiar face enters your sight──it is your neighbour who lives on the same floor as you. You nod your head to your acquaintance and vice versa; you make eye contact with each other; a train of thought runs in both of your mind: Should I say something? As the doors close again, there are just you and your neighbour, surrounded by an air of awkwardness. This minutes-long journey thus turns into a subtle “tug of war”──a “roleplay” stems from the tacit “elevator etiquette”...

───────────────────

Artist’s statement:
I always find “embarrassment” to be a particularly interesting material for comedy. What is special about “lift” and “embarrassment” is that we have an instinctive inclination to maintain social distance, but the environment of a lift simply does not allow so. “The Lift” provided me with a chance to recreate this ambivalence on screen, and to represent in a humorous way the “elevator etiquette” in Hong Kong, which perhaps most of us would find relatable.