Two lovers are torn by the fate of life. A story about love, expectations and courage.

A Handkerchief’s Tale

A dream come true

THE DREAM LIFE

I was inspired by my parents when I was writing this story. Their story has taught me that love is not inevitable.

My parents came from a small island in Hong Kong. My father left the island at young age to work abroad in the South East of Asia. He’ll come back to the island between contracts. One time when he came back from working abroad he met my mother as a young woman. He instantly fell in love.

But both sides of my grandparents disapproved the relationship. My father was a descendant of a farmer. My paternal grandparents owned land and farm for a living. My maternal grandfather was a fisherman.

The two parties didn’t interact much with each other, as they see their own kind as more superior. The fishermen think of the land lords as poor farmers where as the land lords think of the fishermen as stinky sea people.

My mother was holding back at first. Although, she admitted it years later, she found my father very charming and good looking, she didn’t dare to go against my grandfather. But my father was persistent. He didn’t give up and even threatened to take his own life if my mother would break up with him. What a drama queen! Eventually he won the heart of my mother and from then on, it was them against the world. And that stayed the same for the more than forty years to come.

That is why this story is important to me.In life, we have to fight.Fight for the one you love, fight for the life you want, fight for your dreams.

THE DREAM STORY

A Handkerchief’s Tale is a story about love, expectations and courage. Two young people, who differ by class, are madly in love. Will courage help them to fight their class differences and be together?

This is maybe a classic cliché story, but it still happens too often in our modern world. People are divided into class, put into boxes, judged by others. One has to have courage to fight it. Believe in who you are and what you can achieve. Dare to dream.

THE DIRECTOR’S DREAM

A dream. That is also what this short film is about. Not just in the story, but in real life too. For everyone. And particularly for myself. To be able to even start the procedure to realise this short film is a dream come true for me!

I’ve always dreamt to be a director and hoped that I would direct my own film one day. For a long time I didn’t dare to think this dream would come true. But all small steps can lead to one big leap. The only thing you need is courage to take that one step.

A few years back I gathered all my courage to reply to a post on Facebook, offering my services to any film crew that would have me, on any post that is available. At that time I thought to myself, what do I have to lose?! The only bad thing that can happen is a “no” for an answer. But what if someone answered “yes”?

And one producer did say “yes” and gave me a chance to work in her film team. From that moment on, Ulrica de la Mar became my precious mentor and she is also my partner in crime and producer of this film. I can not thank her enough for that very first moment that she let me into her crew.

From that day on I have learned a lot of things. Not just how to use a clapperboard or switch on lights or make sure the caterer has the food ready for cast and crew. No, not just that. I’ve also learned the most important aspect of filmmaking; how to be a part of a team. To be able to make a film, is not the effort of just one person. Everyone on set is involved and everyone is equally important.

THE DREAM TEAM

With the help of Ulrica and a shared passion for film, we’ve been able to tie some talented actors and actresses to this project. And we also have a professional crew on board. This team is already marvellous! All of them are passionate people who believe in making something beautiful happen. I am deeply grateful to all of them for unconditionally helping me to make a dream come true!

BUT

HA! Isn’t there always a but? But, we can’t make this short film happen without help from YOU! Unfortunately, we can’t make a film with just passion. We need some finances too to produce a beautiful film. For instance we need to rent some professional gear. We also need to compensate for the beautiful location where we are going to film. And also very important; we need catering for our cast & crew! Because nobody can work on an empty stomach.

We have the spirit. We are passionate. So, I am confident that this will become a wonderful short film. What we need now, is a little bit of funds that can help us free our spirits and express our passion.

And this is where I have collected all my courage, again, to ask for your help. Please support us if you believe in dreams. Reach out a hand and cheer for a courageous team. Make a small donation and help us to make this beautiful dream come true.

Besides our eternal gratitude we also have some small gestures to express our gratitude for you. We have some awesome perks for you to choose from to make you part of our dream team.

On behalf of our team and from the bottom of my heart: thank you very much!

Jessica Lau - director