Speaker:

Elizabeth Lo (Director of STRAY)

Moderator:

Gary E. Chin

Date:

14 April 2021 (Wednesday)

Time:

6:30 - 8:00 pm

Venue:

2/F Multi-purpose Area, Main Library, HKU

Language:

English

Elizabeth Lo is an award-winning filmmaker whose work has been broadcast and showcased internationally, including at Sundance, MoMA Museum of Modern Art, SXSW, Tribeca, London Film Festival, and New York Times Op-Docs. Elizabeth has been featured in Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film” and DOC NYC’s prestigious “40 Under 40 List”, Cannes Lion’s “New Directors' Showcase,” and the artist academies of the New York Film Festival and Locarno Film Festivals. Elizabeth’s award-winning short films - including Hotel 22, Bisonhead, Mother’s Day, The Disclosure President, Last Stop in Santa Rosa, Treasure Island, Notes from Buena Vista - have been released for distribution to educational institutions and libraries around the world. Elizabeth was born and raised in Hong Kong, and graduated with a B.F.A. from NYU Tisch School of the Arts in 2010, and an M.F.A. from Stanford University in 2015. Elizabeth’s debut feature documentary, STRAY! , won the Top Jury Prize at the Hot Docs International Film Festival - the largest documentary festival in the world - and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award as well as Critics’ Choice Award after premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2020, and is part of the MoMA Museum of Modern Art “The Future of Film Is Female” program. STRAY was released theatrically by Magnolia Pictures and Broadway Circuit in 2021.

Through the eyes of three stray dogs wandering the streets of Istanbul, STRAY explores what it means to dogs to live life on their own terms. As they search for food and shelter, Zeytin, Nazar and Kartal embark on inconspicuous journeys through Turkish society that allow us an unvarnished portrait of human life — and their own canine culture. Zeytin, fiercely independent, embarks on solitary adventures through the city at night; Nazar, nurturing and protective, easily befriends the humans around her; while Kartal, a shy puppy living on the outskirts of a construction site, finds refuge with the security guards who care for her. The disparate lives of Zeytin, Nazar and Kartal intersect when they each form intimate bonds with a group of young Syrians who share the streets with them. Whether they lead us into bustling streets or decrepit ruins, the gaze of these strays act as windows into the overlooked corners of society: women in loveless marriages, protesters without arms, refugees without sanctuary. The film is a critical observation of human civilization through the unfamiliar gaze of dogs and a sensory voyage into new ways of seeing.

Gary started working with animal rescues in Hong Kong in 2008. He was a member of the SPCA-HK Executive Committee from 2012 – 2015. In 2017, Gary created the HKU Libraries Resident Therapy Dog Programme with the help of Jasper. Jasper was an Old English Sheepdog rescued from Hong Kong Rescue Dog in 2010. https://lib.hku.hk/rtdp/index.html

In 2019, while on holiday in Turkey, Gary and his wife witnessed first-hand the free to roam dogs of Istanbul and other locations throughout the country. He was amazed at the dog’s well-being and carefree life, but more importantly, the respect given by the locals.