Ah Ling, one of the students featured in the award-winning Hong Kong documentary To My Nineteen-Year-Old Self, has objected to its upcoming screening at Italy's Far East Film Festival in Udine. The Ying Wa Girls’ School alumna said she was notified late and not consulted on edits to her segments.
Ah Ling, tracked over a decade in the coming-of-age film co-directed by Ying Wa Girls’ School alumna Mabel Cheung Yuen-ting, stated she does not consent to any screening. The documentary, part of the school's campus fundraising, follows six students' journeys amid turbulent times.
Following the festival's announcement on April 3 of the film's 'out of competition' slot (April 24-May 2), Ying Wa Girls’ School notified Ah Ling only on Friday without addressing her concerns over edits to her sections, she told Wave magazine. "I do not consent to the film being screened in any form."
This echoes the film's February 2023 Hong Kong release, withdrawn days later after Ah Ling complained to Ming Pao Weekly about lack of consent.
