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Writer's picturePeter K F Cheung SBS

International Women's Day

  1. FADE IN


  2. Act 1


  3. INT. DINING ROOM - 21:00


  4. PETER, his WIFE and KAJI take their seats at the dinning table.

  5. .

  6. PETER: Do you think you can fix it?


  7. Peter is referring to a broken wire of a pedal switch by his side.


  8. WIFE: Let's have dinner first.


  9. PETER: Sure!


  10. PETER (V.O.): Having come home from work, she has prepared the dinner for both of us.


  11. Pausing.


  12. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): She prefers to do the cooking herself rather than leaving it to our domestic helper.


  13. Pausing.


  14. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): She sets her standards high and won't settle for less.


  15. Act 2


  16. FLASHBACK


  17. INT. HONG KONG MUSEUM OF HISTORY - 12:30


  18. Entertainment section. Peter is watching film extracts shown on a screen.

  19. PETER (V.O.): I've watched the Hong Kong films and the TV dramas in the 1970s.


  20. Peter sees snapshots of a female actress on screen.


  21. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): We're classmates in a secondary school. In Form 3, we either sat in the same column or in the same row.


  22. Recalling.


  23. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In 1971, we could have become matriculation classmates again ... But she chose to work.


  24. War section. We hear:...people in Hong Kong were encouraged to learn Japanese...

  25. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Without any encouragement, my elder daughter can speak Japanese like a native.

  26. Pausing.


  27. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Among my children, she was the only one who read her undergraduate degree in Hong Kong.


  28. Pausing.


  29. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And so far, she's the only one of my family who has worked in Tokyo.


  30. Pausing.


  31. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And now, she's studying Korean in Seoul National University.

  32. Pausing.


  33. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In the term exam, she scored 99.7/100 and won a scholarship.


  34. An inhabitants' section. In front of a Poon Choi exhibit, Peter is watching a video clip on screen on New Territories.


  35. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I first had such a folk dish in 1971 when my sister was married to the only son of a village representative.


  36. Pausing.


  37. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My sister gave birth to four daughters before she had a son to sustain the male line of the family.


  38. Pausing.


  39. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Her big and loving family has been expanding.


  40. Recalling.


  41. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Incidentally, her English and Chinese calligraphy is distinctly aesthetic.


  42. Seeing a cheongsam exhibit, Peter captures a photo of it.


  43. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In black and white photos, I saw my Mom wearing it. In the 1960s, an Auntie wore cheongsam all the time.


  44. Seeing a kerosene stove exhibit, Peter is in thoughts.


  45. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In the 1960s, my family only had wood stoves. My grandma chopped the firewood. I also did it, for fun.


  46. Recalling.


  47. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When grandma taught me how to start a fire, smoke got into our eyes.


  48. Pausing.


  49. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): She insisted to cook for the family when she was terminally ill...


  50. Pausing.


  51. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): She's great! She'd move heaven and earth for the family.


  52. RETURN TO PRESENT


  53. Act 3


  54. INT. DINING ROOM - LATER


  55. Appearing, Peter sees the wire of his pedal switch has been connected with tin soldering.


  56. PETER (V.O.): Women can be a wonderful wife, an Outstanding friend, a Marvelous daughter, an Adorable sister and a Nurturing grandma.


  57. Recalling.


  58. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): With strength, intelligence, grace and nerve not to take "No" as an answer, women may dominate in the men's world.


  59. Pausing.


  60. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Where there's woman, there's magic. Happy International Women's Day!


  61. FADE OUT


  62. THE END




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