Honorary University Fellows
Alumna Ms Mabel Yuen Ting Cheung is an award-winning film director.
During her studies at this University, Ms Cheung was a resident at Lady Ho Tung Hall – a ‘Hotungnian’, as they call themselves – and was named ‘Sportswoman of the Year’.
She graduated from HKU with a BA in English Literature and Psychology, then continued her studies first in the UK, at Bristol University where she received an Advanced Diploma in Drama and Visual Arts, and subsequently in the US, where she received an MFA from the New York University Graduate Film School.
Ms Cheung is one of Hong Kong's finest film producers and directors, and has received international recognition for her work, including from the Hong Kong Films Awards, the Asia-Pacific Film Festival, the Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards. Most recently, she was awarded the prestigious Crystal Bear for Best Film at the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival, for the film Echoes of the Rainbow. Her professional recognition also includes being a member of the Hong Kong Film Development Council.
Ms Cheung has always had a soft spot for her alma mater, and her film, City of Glass, is her homage to HKU. Set against a backdrop of the University and its students in the 1970s, the film captures for posterity images of student life at the old Lady Ho Tung Hall, and features some special HKU traditions, including High Tables and gong fights.
Ms Cheung is always ready to lend her support to HKU activities. She has for many years given generously of her time as a Mentor to our students, and remains very popular with them, as they repeatedly urge her to join them at various residential halls’ High Tables.
The University has a tradition of honouring artists, and Ms Cheung is a loyal alumna with a distinguished career in the arts.
Citation delivered by Professor Kam LOUIE, Dean of Arts
The career of HKU alumna and award-winning film director, Ms Mabel CHUENG Yuen Ting has taken her around the world, but her heart has always remained here in Hong Kong
Ms Cheung is one of Hong Kong’s finest film producers and directors, and has received international recognition for her work, including from the Hong Kong Films Awards, the Asia-Pacific Film Festival, the Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards.
Most recently, she was awarded the prestigious Crystal Bear for Best Film at the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival, for the film Echoes of the Rainbow (歲月神偷). Her professional recognition also includes being a member of the Hong Kong Film Development Council.
But as many will know, Ms Cheung also has longstanding ties with HKU, starting with being an undergraduate.
At the time, Ms Cheung was a resident at Lady Ho Tung Hall – a ‘Hotungnian’, as they call themselves – and was named ‘Sports Woman of the Year”.
She graduated from HKU with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Psychology, then continued her studies first in the UK, at Bristol University where she received an Advanced Diploma in Drama and Visual Arts, and subsequently in the US, where she received an MFA from the New York University Graduate Film School.
In her 1987 film, An Autumn\\\'s Tale (秋天的童話), Ms Cheung created an ironic image for Hong Kong actor Mr Chow Yun Fat, who played a street-wise New York cabdriver, tellingly named “船頭尺” – “a man with empty pockets”. Some have suspected that the story might well have been an account of Ms Cheung’s own life as a film student in New York!
When news reached her that her beloved Lady Ho Tung Hall was about to be demolished in 1998, it turned out to be a catalyst for creating a piece of work that would be both imaginative storytelling and historical preservation. In many ways, her film, City of Glass 玻璃之城, is Ms Cheung’s homage to HKU.
Set against a backdrop of the University and its students in the 1970s, the film captures for posterity images of student life at the old Lady Ho Tung Hall, and features special HKU traditions, including the High Tables and gong fights. HKU students, staff, alumni and even children of alumni appear in the film!
Ms Cheung is always ready to lend her support to HKU activities. She has for many years given generously of her time as a Mentor to our students, and remains very popular with them, as they repeatedly urge her to join them at different High Tables at our student halls of residence.
Her films may suggest to some that she is a romantic, as her movies An Autumn's Tale 秋天的童話, and The Soong Sisters 宋家皇朝, depict a kind of undying romance in life, and celebrate the values of love and loyalty in its various forms and contexts.
It may be surprising then, to learn that the novel Crime and Punishment, by the 19th century Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky, is one of her favourite works, especially since few would say that its main objective is to celebrate love.
But Dostoyevsky also said, “Man is fond of counting his troubles, but he does not count his joys. If he counted them up as he ought to, he would see that every lot has enough happiness provided for it.”
And in a way, that is what Ms Cheung is doing. In each of her films, she is exploring ideas that interest her, celebrating the things that are of value to her, and, in a way, counting her joys. And as we watch her films, we are privileged to have the chance to count her joys with her.
It gives me great pleasure, Mr Pro-Chancellor, to present Ms Mabel CHEUNG Yuen Ting for the Honorary University Fellowship, in recognition of her contributions to Hong Kong and academia.