G'rls ROOM: Filmmakers, actresses, idols. Between niche and mainstream

About the event

How are women doing in the film and entertainment industry in Asia? Are they able to appear not only in arthouse cinema, but also in high-budget productions? How much do they earn compared to their colleagues? What difficulties do they face? Have they felt the changes caused by the #metoo movement? The editors of the feminist magazine "G'rls ROOM"  discussed all this with the female representatives of the industry present at the festival: director Heiward Mak, actress Crisel Consunji and producer Doris Yang. 

The discussion took place after the screening of "Nina Wu", a tale about a fiercely determined woman fighting for her dreams and standing against adverse structures of power. 

Participants: 

• Crisel Consunji

Actress with vocal education, founder of an art school for children. She has been performing since she was ten: she started with theatrical musicals, took part in family programs and many award-winning stage and television productions. On Five Flavours she will talk about her film debut, "Still human", for which she received the Hong Kong Film Award.

• Heiward Mak

Born in 1984, she studied Creative Media at the City University of Hong Kong. At the age of 24, she completed her debut feature film "High Noon" (2008) about the rebellious Hong Kong high school students. She worked with Pang Ho-cheung on the script "Love in a Puff" (2009), one of the biggest hits of the Hong Kong box office, which has already seen two sequels and received the script award at the Hong Kong Film Awards. "Mad World" (2016) was her debut in the role of a producer. Mak continues to support other young Hong Kong filmmakers, sharing her decade knowledge of working within local film industry, shooting short films, full features as well as many commercials and music videos. "Fagara" is her sixth film, completed with Ann Hui as the producer of the project.

• Doris Yang

Producer, cinema enthusiast, for over two decades working with Fruit Chan on his subsequent projects, including the award-winning "Made in Hong Kong", "Durian durian", "Hollywood Hong Kong" and the latest "Three Husbands".