Ten Years Screening

There will be a 4 day film screening of the Ten Years, a series which started in Hong Kong and extended to Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand. The series invites directors and viewers to envision and reimagine the future of their own environments. Attendees will participate in a talkback with Yale-China Artist Fellow Kit Hung immediately following the screening. The Ten Years screenings at the Festival are sponsored by the Council on East Asian Studies at Yale and the Council on Southeast Asian Studies at Yale.

Winner of the Best Film award at the 2017 Hong Kong Film Awards, Ten Years is a compilation of four short films by young Hong Kong directors that envision the future of their hometown amidst a politically hegemonic backdrop. Producer Ng Kar Leung expanded this concept beyond Hong Kong, inviting directors from countries such as Taiwan, Japan, and Thailand to reimagine these concepts in their own environments. This resulted in the production of three additional "Ten Years" films in these countries, all of which will be showcased at the New Haven Festival of Art and Ideas.

Against a shared political climate, the Ten Years series presents the reflections of educated, urban, and creative young individuals who are media-savvy and envision their future. Starting from Hong Kong and extending to other Asian countries, including those outside of the "Milk Tea Alliance," this series demonstrates how film can serve as a powerful tool for us to contemplate and discuss the unspeakable and our collective future. With this miniature film festival, we aim to encourage the audience to ponder, converse, and take action towards shaping their future and the future of their homeland in the next decade.


DAY 1: Ten Years Japan - TUE. JUNE 13 at 5PM
Ten Years Japan (2018) is a collection of short films exploring the hopes, fears, and dreams of a new generation of Japanese filmmakers.
• Plan 75 by Chie Hayakawa imagines a world where the elderly are encouraged to participate in a government-run euthanasia program
• Mischievous Alliance by Yusuke Kinoshita portrays a group of children using technology to disrupt their school’s surveillance system
• The Air We Can’t See by Megumi Tsuno is a commentary on Japan’s air pollution crisis
• For Our Beautiful Country by Akiyo Fujimura shows young people becoming vigilantes to protect their town from terrorists
• Data by Kei Ishikawa imagines a future where personal data determines a person’s societal worth

DAY 2: Ten Years Thailand - WED. JUNE 14 at 5PM
Ten Years Thailand (2018) is a collection of short films exploring the hopes, fears, and dreams of a new generation of Thai filmmakers.
• Sunset by Aditya Assarat portrays a future where the militaristic government has imposed a strict curfew for citizens
• Planetarium  by Wisit Sasanatieng is set in a world where the government controls the weather
• Pob by Chulayarnon Siriphol is a horror film exploring the supernatural in Thai culture
• Song of the City by Apichatpong Weerasethakul portrays a future where the government squashed freedom of expression
• The Path by Kittipong Thongsombat is a meditation on the impact of technology on society

DAY 3: Ten Years Taiwan - TUE. JUNE 20 at 5PM
Ten Years Taiwan (2021) is a collection of short films exploring the hopes, fears, and dreams of a new generation of Taiwanese filmmakers.
• Dajia River by Lekal Sumi portrays a future where environmental destruction has led to societal collapse
• As We Like It  by Rina B. Tsou is set in a world where people can customize their emotions
• The Sleep by Lau Kek Huat explores a world where sleep is a luxury accessible only to those who can afford it
• Way Home by Lu Po-Shun mediates on the relationship between humans and nature
• Journey to the Ends of the Night by Hsieh Pei-ju shows a future of strict government curfews, fear, and surveillance

DAY 4: Ten Years Hong Kong - WED. JUNE 21 at 5PM
Ten Years Hong Kong (2015) is a collection of short films exploring the hopes, fears, and dreams of a new generation of Hong Kong filmmakers.  The film won Best Film award at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 2016.
• Extras by Kwok Zune imagines a dystopic future where the government uses “extras” to stage events and create an perceived sense of order and normalcy
• Season of the End by Wong Fei-pang explores the idea of Hong Kong as a police state
• Dialect by Jevons Au portrays a future where Cantonese (Hong Kong’s local dialect) is banned in schools and workplaces
• Self-Immolator by Chow Kwun-wai mediates on the impact of self-immolation as a form of political protest
• Local Egg by Ng Ka-leung explores the role of the individual in a rapidly changing city