2nd Extra Credit on HK/NY Borders

I thoroughly enjoyed the HK/NY Borders Film Exchange. Being that some of my great-grandparents are from Hong Kong themselves, and I was born in New York, I found that seeing the two different cultures present in one segment was inspiring, and in a way, connecting myself to my own roots. Seeing so many different films was fun and made me realize how I could create an intimate experience with some of the personal things I’ve gone through. The film ‘A Thousand Words’ focuses on a family in Harlem accepting that the grandmother has dementia struck me hard, as I personally had to deal with my grandmother progressively developing dementia, and forgetting who I was, despite a previous close relationship. The film ‘The Little Red Ball’ depicts a red ball against a colorless world. There is a boy in the film who is colorless as well. I think that the boy is sad as he is growing up and is no longer a kid. This reminded me of ‘The Girl in Red – Schindler’s List (1993)’, where a young girl wearing red is contrasted against the other black and white figures in the film. She represents how the Jews being shamelessly slaughtered are truly innocent and don’t deserve to be killed. I wondered if the filmmaker of ‘The Little Red Ball’ had this film in mind when creating the story, focusing on the notion of innocence, and losing it.  With so many contrasts and differences between the films, I was happy to be part of an experience with so many talented film-makers.