Kim Tam Yik-Him

Fish, an aspiring painter, leaves the safe haven of home and moves into a dwelling unit inside an industrial building. Carrying a mixed bag of ambivalence and possibilities, her new independence shares the upsides and downsides of a subsistence living in the enclave of artists and musicians, where the strains of life – dissatisfaction with the government and an ever-looming threat of eviction – are tempered by a healthy dose of optimism and humour. The habitat of Fish and company may not be the land of la dolce vita but it’s an oasis of dreams in a desert of reality, however transient and haphazard.

Two men, a suit and tie by day, turn urban strollers at night and loiter aimlessly around the labyrinth of streets, MTR stations, bars and playgrounds, seeking an escapade from responsibilities that weigh heavily on the mind and fatigue that never goes away. A young woman who has all the time to kill goes to movies and private gigs and answers a stream of inconsequential calls. For a doomsday believer who distributes leaflets to ‘help’ non-believer, it’s Apocalypse Now! It’s inevitable their paths cross at some junctures just as the night passes and a new day dawns.

Security guard Cheung is a loving father who takes good care of his children. As his kids grow older, they have their own lives and that leaves Chueng feeling lonely. He displaces his fatherly love onto his colleague Sheung's young children instead. This innocent act, however, makes his daughter suspect that Cheung and Sheung are having an affair and a small incident risks being blown out of scale.

Fish, an aspiring painter, leaves the safe haven of home and moves into a dwelling unit inside an industrial building. Carrying a mixed bag of ambivalence and possibilities, her new independence shares the upsides and downsides of a subsistence living in the enclave of artists and musicians, where the strains of life – dissatisfaction with the government and an ever-looming threat of eviction – are tempered by a healthy dose of optimism and humour. The habitat of Fish and company may not be the land of la dolce vita but it’s an oasis of dreams in a desert of reality, however transient and haphazard.