KwanTeo Film Archive · Work
Borrowed Time
人海同游Borrowed Time unfolds as a typhoon approaches. On the eve of her wedding, Ting leaves the home she shares with her mother in Guangzhou and travels to Hong Kong to find the father she has not seen for twenty years, bringing buried family memories back into view.
About the Work
Ting’s search takes her between Guangzhou and Hong Kong, through fruit markets, piers and streets carrying traces of her family’s past. An encounter with an old friend opens a brief interval outside her ordinary life as the typhoon approaches.
Choy Ji and his collaborators researched cross-border fruit trading, North Point and their characters’ ways of living. Initially developed under the Chinese title Jiehe, the film found its eventual title during writing, shifting attention from a geographical boundary to fleeting human connections.
The director’s debut feature screened in IFFR 2024’s Bright Future programme. He leaves the reunion’s meaning open: consolation and a new wound remain possibilities, giving viewers room to reflect beyond the time spent with the characters.