Club Movie Screening: Lost in the Fumes

This 97 minutes documentary covers the experience and mindset of a young localist activist, Edward Leung. He was an average student before he unexpectedly found himself at the focal point of two Legislative Council elections. While winning over 60,000 votes in the By-election would have guaranteed Edward a seat in the next round, his ticket to the Legislative Council was forfeited when the government imposed extra measures in the nomination process. Having once claimed that ’be it crawling or creeping in, I will become a councillor’, he could only stay on the sidelines and have Baggio Leung replace him in the race. At the same time, Edward felt his days of freedom were numbered as he faced three counts of rioting charges for taking part in the Mongkok clashes. As the oath-taking controversy and the disqualification saga unfolded, Edward chose to retreat from the spotlight. (Note: Subsequent to the filming of this documentary, Edward pled guilty in January 2018 to one count of police officer assault and has been in custody since then.)

Nora Lam, the Director, is a comparative literature and French graduate of the University of Hong Kong. She premiered her first feature documentary Road Not Taken (2016) in the Hong Kong Independent Film Festival 2016. Road Not Taken was also screened in a series of overseas film festivals and local community screenings. Her first documentary short Midnight in Mong Kok (2014) was a finalist of the Open Category of the 21st ifva Awards.