Hong Kong primary students make a film to explore traditional shops

Primary school students in Tsuen Wan got the chance to escape their classroom. They made a short film about their district’s traditional shops.

Equipped with microphones, students from Hoi Pa Street Government Primary School interviewed employees in some of the area’s oldest shops. Their film celebrates the stories of these small businesses.

The 10 students joined the “Little Tsuen Wan KOL” programme. Their five-minute video featured Yuet Wo – a shop that sells soy sauce – and Chi Kee Noodle Shop. It won them the Bronze Award in the video contest.

Change your impressions

Members of the team say the project helped them to overcome their misunderstandings.

“When I first heard that I needed to make a video about small shops in Tsuen Wan, I thought the shops would be messy,” says Charlotte Ng, 11, the director of the film. “When I got there, I realised that small shops could be clean, too. It changed my impression.”

Wan Cho-leung, an adult who helped with the project, says children nowadays may miss out on Hong Kong’s rich cultural heritage and what makes their community unique.

“Nowadays, children don’t have to shop at wet markets; they don’t have to go to places they are not familiar with,” he says.

To strengthen the kids’ sense of community, the project not only offered them video production workshops, but also some guided tours where they learned about the local area.

They interviewed shop owners and filmed them, allowing them to experience what it is like to be a content creator.

Nine-year-old Hailey Chiu says: “After joining the project, I learned a lot about Tsuen Wan, and I yearn to continue exploring its history and culture.”

Courage and effort

It was not always an easy job.

Hailey says: “It takes a lot of courage to conduct interviews with staff at local shops.” She says some students might be shy and nervous about talking to strangers.

Miracle Ko, 12, spoke of the difficulties of film editing. “It took me so much time to finish the subtitles. And to do it well, I had to listen patiently to what the people in the videos were saying.”

Angel Wong, 12, hopes their video will appeal to people from other parts of Hong Kong. “Residents of other districts may not know the culture and history of Tsuen Wan. I hope the video can help them learn more,” she says.