News
11 June 2025 — Premiere of “Metamorphosis of the Bay Area”
The documentary “Metamorphosis of the Bay Area” (灣區變形記), presented by the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Hong Kong (HKU), premiered on 11 June 2025 to an audience of over than 70 invited friends and colleagues. The screening was following by an engaging discussion with the production team and was warmly received, sparking thoughtful feedback and lively exchanges.
A second screening on August 1 2025 drew more than 100 participants from diverse academic and professional fields, further enriching the conversation and providing valuable insights for the project’s next steps.
Synopsis: Based on forty years of field research, “Metamorphosis of the Bay Area” narrates the making and unmaking of the Pearl River Delta in South China from the Ming to the present. Using historical images and vivid ethnographic encounters, the film illustrates how a mobile, water-based people became “landed” over time. They turned river marshes into fields, built lineage communities, performed rituals, and cultivated literati identity to engage the imperial state. Today, they face the challenges of state-led urban development, and struggle against all odds to maintain a regional ecology with rich cultural meanings that transcend rigid administrative boundaries.
Production Team:
Director: Ding Cheng (丁澄)
Assistant Director: Li Xin (李昕)
Production Supervisors: Liu Zhiwei (劉志偉), May Bo Ching (程美寶)
Producer: Helen Siu (蕭鳳霞)