Year Of Ren Yin

The Chinese calendar Year of Ren Yin occurs once in 60 years. It often brings drastic changes to Hong Kong. In 1842, China lost the Opium War, and Hong Kong became a British colony. In 2022, After a political crackdown prompted a mass exodus, China is free to remould Hong Kong in its own image. 

Yet transformation creates dislocation: a photographer-turned-taxi driver is again at the risk of losing his livelihood after the city shuts nightlife in a vain attempt to achieve zero-COVID. A Japanese bartender is forced out of work and questions the future for his career and his family. A high-profile journalist tries to stay true to his mission in a shrinking media industry. A mainland Chinese migrant who’s found career success in Hong Kong is confronted with little recognition from her family in the mainland.

In documenting the lives of the four ordinary Hong Kongers, this documentary examines what compromises each person in Hong Kong must make to remain in the city they love.