Chan Mou Yin and Cheng Wai Kei
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Best Screenplay
Screenwriters, The Last Dance
Jury Citation
Among nominated works that differed in subject, style and narrative approach, The Last Dance stood out. The jury found that it opens a new aesthetic dimension for the literary and intellectual quality of Chinese-language cinema. Using the passing of the funeral trade from old to new generations as its narrative ground, Chan Mou Yin and Cheng Wai Kei use the "Breaking Hell" ritual as a metaphor for the spiritual predicaments and redemption of modern people. They bring a light comic touch to the heavy subject of life and death, convey a philosophy of life through questions of mortality with sincere and delicate emotion, and strike a balance between authorial expression and humanistic concern.
The Last Dance: Synopsis
Wedding planner Dominic (Dayo Wong) falls deep into debt as the wedding business slumps and is forced to become a funeral director. Weddings and funerals could not be more different, and he hits walls everywhere, but the hardest test is winning the approval of Taoist priest Man (Michael Hui). At first their views clash and conflicts keep breaking out, putting their relationship on the brink. But after Man helps him through several crises, and after Dominic witnesses Man's moments with his daughter Man Yuet (Michelle Wai), the knot between them slowly loosens, and he gradually comes to understand the true meaning of "Breaking Hell".