岸上漁歌 Ballad on the Shore, 98mins, 2017

Documentary Film｜ 2017 ｜ 98 mins ｜ Cantonese, Tanka Dialect

Chinese & English Subtitle | DCP / HD

Director: Ma Chi Hang | Producer: May Fung, Eno Yim ｜ Executive Producer: Haze Cheng, Jack Han｜ Co-producer: Cheung Tit leung｜Cinematographer: Wong Wai Nap｜Editor: Cheung Pak Ming｜Music Composer: AhKok Wong | Sound Designer: Cyrus Tang, Ricky Yip ｜ Graphic Designer: Roger Ng | Still Photographer: Woody Lau ｜Audio Description: Wong Ka Yee

On the small isle of Tap Mun, the ocean breeze gently lifts up strands of grey hair on Lai Lin-shau’s head. He quietly sings in the characteristic tones of the fisherman’s ballads: Anchor large boats at the tip of To Nin, a sampan sends the lover to Sai See Island.....”. The melody alters with his moods and, seemingly without rules, the pitch and tones alternate and repeat themselves as if they were synchronising with the ocean waves. The lyrics of these ballads tell the stories of the trials and tribulations of the life of the fisherman. The Lai family had, for generations, fished for a living in the waters of Tap Mun, their ballads are passed down from one generation to the next, but the songs are finding fewer and fewer listeners today. Born before WWII, Mr. Lai has been wed to his wife for over 60 years. He is one of the few people alive who knows the fisherman’s ballads intimately. None of his children followed the ancestral path of a fisherman, and none experienced the harsh and unforgiving life at sea. They are not even aware of his singular and priceless knowledge of the ballads.

The deeply tanned skin with a whiff of sea salt coming off their bodies are the distinctive signs of an ex-fisherman to the city dwellers. As the fishing community shrinks, they found new ways of life on land. One performs and teaches the ballads to young children; another uses the ballads to spread her Christian faith. The ballads have become a spiritual harbour for these landed fishermen and appear to offer solace and certain selective nostalgia to a life of hardship. These ballads were once part of the nautical landscape of Tap Mun and as the memories of the fishermen’s past lives fade, the words and melodies have come ashore bringing spiritual serenity to those who would hear the songs of the sea.

16th RAI FILM FESTIVAL Ethnomusicology Film Award (Commendation) & Intangible Culture Film Prize

Ying E Chi Macau Film Festival 2017

Life is Art 盛夏藝術節2018

Life is Art MOViE MOViE Festival 2018

Chiayi International Art Doc Film Festival 2018 (CIADFF)

More info:

www.balladontheshore.com.hk