Near Neighbours

A filmmaker from Edge Hill University will be highlighting the unique cultures of the British Chinese community as part of a special exhibition.

Knowledge Lives Everywhere at FACT in Liverpool is currently showcasing the work it undertakes with a diverse range of groups across Liverpool.

As part of the event Rosa Fong, a senior lecturer in film and TV at Edge Hill, will be showcasing her work under the ‘Near Neighbours' theme.

Rosa has done a lot of work within the Liverpool Chinese community and has agreed to show a retrospective of her films on this subject matter. She will also hold a question and answer session with an audience and a reading of her script as part of her practice-based research.

She explained: "There is a lot of investment coming in from China and it plays an important role in our economy, but what about the older Chinese communities? It seems that they are invisible and overlooked yet they are part of what makes Liverpool so distinctive. They are our near neighbours yet we don't know very much about them.

"My work documents the stories of some of our older British Chinese communities highlighting their personal experiences, struggles and unique culture, which I'm sure will educate those who come along to see the exhibition and I'm confident it will stimulate debate."

Rosa's work will feature alongside a number of others to showcase the breadth and scale of the often unseen world.

She said: "I'm delighted to be able to take part in such a prestigious exhibition which not only gives me the chance to continue practicing as a filmmaker but also raises the profile of the dynamic work we're involved in as a department here at Edge Hill."

Another reason why this is such an exciting project for Rosa to be working on is because it gives her the chance to show one of the screenplays that she has put together as part of a project run by North West's Vision+Media for upcoming scriptwriters.

She said: "It's a great opportunity to be able to show this work to an audience and get their feedback before I finally have to travel to London next month to pitch my ideas to potential investors in the hope it makes it to the big screen. To have it out there in the public domain is really exciting for me and I hope that it becomes a voice for the British Chinese community."

Rosa's work will be shown in week four of the exhibition, from 27^th April to 4^th May.