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Ray Yeung has recently broken new boundaries with his latest film “All Shall Be Well,” which was awarded the prestigious Teddy Award for Best Feature Film at the 2024 Berlin Film Festival. The Teddy Award is known for its celebration of films with LGBTQ themes. Yeung is the first Hong Kong Director to receive the award since Stanley Kwan in 1998. The award highlights the growing international impact of Yeung’s work as a screenwriter and Director.
Interviewing Yeung for her podcast, gallerist Pearl Lam, who is well known for creating platforms for the exploration of underrepresented narratives within the contemporary art world, offers her perspective on the evolving contemporary landscape of Hong Kong. She and Ray Yeung reflect on local culture and society in Hong Kong and delve into the intersection of the traditional social values with the modern aspirations of Hong Kong.
Speaking to Pearl Lam, Ray Yeung says in The Pearl Lam Podcast: “I feel that film is something that someone can, for a very short period of time, depending on the length of the movie, really step into another world and be someone else and see their world from their perspective. I think it’s a very good way for the world to actually embrace diversity and also to understand what empathy is. I think filmmaking is a very important thing.”
In “All Shall Be Well,” Yeung continues his exploration of underrepresented narratives, this time focusing on the experiences of a lesbian couple in their mid-sixties. Through poignant storytelling and captivating performances, the film delves into themes of grief, family and the struggles faced by the LGBTQ community in Hong Kong. Asked what he would do if Hollywood asked him to produce a film, Ray says: “The world is changing. In the old days, it used to be that epic movies will win Oscars and become mainstream. But now when you see the nominations for the best film award, a lot of them are independent. If there’s Hollywood coming to ask me to do a movie, I’m certainly interested, and I can do something that has an LGBT sentiment. I feel that it doesn’t have to be about gay people, but it can still be about that kind of subject matter.”
Ray Yeung is also a longstanding and vocal advocate for LGBTQ rights, using his platform to spark meaningful dialogue and to effect positive change within the local community. He serves as Chairman of the Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, the longest running LGBTQ film festival in Asia, which has grown in prominence since its inception in 1989.
Pearl Lam says of the podcast episode ‘The Golden Era Of Gay Cinema’: “By creating and sharing these stories, Ray Yeung is not only giving a voice to those who are often unheard but is also challenging societal norms and stereotypes that he has personally experienced. His commitment to highlighting diverse narratives is a testament to his belief in the transformative power of cinema to create a more inclusive and just society.”
A written Q&A based on the podcast episode is available on The Pearl Lam Podcast companion blog at: https://medium.com/@pearl-lam/the-golden-era-of-gay-cinema-with-ray-yeung-the-pearl-lam-podcast-fc1550bf4fa2
About 
Pearl Lam (林明珠):
Pearl Lam (林明珠) is an international gallerist and a leading global authority on Asian art and the global contemporary art market. Jan Dalley at The Financial Times calls Pearl Lam “a powerhouse of the contemporary art world”. Ted Loos at The New York Times calls her “a tour de force of the art world”. Forbes names Pearl Lam as “one of Asia’s most powerful women”. And in 2023 Prestige Magazine named her “one of the most powerful women in Hong Kong”.
Ray Yeung later shifted his focus back to Hong Kong, directing Suk Suk (2020), a film that explored the romance of two gay men in Hong Kong’s senior community. The film was awarded Best Film at the 2019 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award. His second feature film Front Cover (2015) follows a gay Chinese American fashion stylist who rejects his heritage. The film won Best Screenplay at the FilmOut San Diego LGBT Film Festival. Yeung’s new film All Shall Be Well (2024) premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival.
