IN THE ASCENDANT

Hong Kong cinema is moving away from the gritty cop movies it was known for in the 1980s to tell stories about society and the city's diverse communities. Tatler talks to three rising actresses-Natalie Choi, Kiranjeet Gill and Cecilia Choi - who are shaking up the scene with their vision and performances

- Zabrina Lo

Cecilia Choi
From theatre to film 

When Cecilia Choi decided she would specialise in theatre and drama at university, she had no ambitions beyond enjoying her degree; she didn’t plan to become a film star, let alone influence Hong Kong society or the film industry. And she certainly didn’t expect, only three years after her film debut in 2017, to bag a Best Actress award from the Hong Kong Film Critics Society and a Hong Kong Film Awards nomination for Beyond the Dream.

This year, she is starring in A Light Never Goes Out as Rainbow, the architect daughter of famed Taiwanese actor Sylvia Chang’s character Mei-heung. The film, set for release this month, follows how the pair carry out the dying wish of Rainbow’s father, one of Hong Kong’s last neon light masters, while the younger woman also reflects on her relationship with her family and how the city is changing.

Choi, now 28, says A Light has had an impact on her, both as an actress and a daughter. “My character is tough, rational and not particularly expressive in conveying her emotions,” she says. “My father has also passed away, so this production prompted me to process my relationship with my family a lot more,” adding that her personal experience helped her more accurately portray her character’s emotions. “The death of a family member might not hit you at the moment; you might not cry, and it might come as a shock. So how do you present this complicated human emotion in front of the camera?”