Hong Kong is known for bright lights and sleek skyscrapers, but when filmmakers Tammie Tsang and Scott Clotworthy focus our attention on the city’s crowded streets, the glamour disappears. In this ReelEarth collection film, we see an intimate and poignant Hong Kong existence, the life of a 66-year-old woman named Wong Yuet-Han. Through very creative camerawork and thoughtful interviews, we follow her through the streets as she sorts, stacks, and sells discarded cardboard. Sister Wong’s day is long. Her payoff is slim. The traditional Chinese expectation that children will care and provide for their elderly parents is not a reality for Wong, nor for thousands of other impoverished elderly waste pickers. Few social services are available. Until recently, Sister Wong has been homeless. Collecting cardboard has given her a purpose though, and enough resource for a room. She hopes the government and the city’s residents will begin to recognize the value of her work - After all, an eye-popping 20% of Hong Kong’s waste is collected by Wong and her fellow pickers. Copyright Compass Light Productions

Early version of a sample of the work of Scott Clotworthy DP