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Up Close: Elysa Wendi & Lee Wai-Shing

Up Close: Elysa Wendi & Lee Wai-Shing
ELYSA WENDI and LEE WAI-SHING, A Long Walk, 2022, still from 4K digital video: 15 min 44 sec. Courtesy the artists.

A man enters frame right and tracks a small ravine as sunlight casts through the foliage, striking the ink-green, algae-covered ground. At times, he crawls, holding tight to the wall, trying to maintain his balance. The man is Ong Yong Lock, a veteran Hong Kong-based Malaysian dancer and choreographer, and the short film is A Long Walk (2022), co-directed by Elysa Wendi and Lee Wai-Shing and commissioned by Tai Kwun. But despite initial impressions that this film might be a covert reflection of Hong Kong’s political unease and social disruption, it is, in fact, a portrait of Ong and his struggles throughout a long and seasoned career.