The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) today (11 May 2023) announced the launch of the short movie series “Under the Same Sky” on Mother’s Day (14 May 2023) to promote equal opportunities and the values of diversity and inclusion. 

The “Under the Same Sky” short movie series explored the issues of discrimination through various touching stories. Cross-media producer Steven MA Chun-wai was commissioned by the EOC to produce this movie series. The short movie series is going to premiere on ViuTV Channel 99 on 14 May 2023 (Sunday) from 14:30 to 16:00 and will be re-run on the same channel on 28 May 2023 (Sunday) from 13:30 to 15:00. The series is in Cantonese and comes with Chinese and English subtitles. The EOC will also upload the series to the EOC’s website for public viewing after the premiere. 

Mr Ricky CHU, Chairperson of the EOC said, “Unlike past TV docu-drama series of the EOC, which was based on actual complaint cases, this movie series takes on a new approach to examine the discrimination issues in society from a wider perspective. Instead of instilling hard facts on the laws into the viewers, we make use of creative drama scripts to depict the feelings of prejudice and discrimination experienced by the characters, in this new movie series. In fact, many discrimination issues in society, as we noticed, are caused by a lack of understanding, resulting in stereotypes and prejudice. As such, we are hoping to tackle the root causes of discrimination through public education. In producing the ‘Under the Same Sky’ movie series, we hope to inspire greater empathy and deeper understanding of the discrimination issues among community members, so that we can put a stop to discrimination in society.”

The “Under the Same Sky” short movie series consists of eight individual episodes which respectively address different discrimination issues in emotional drama scenes. The themes of these eight individual episodes are: “Birthday Wish” – the challenges faced by persons with disabilities, “Breakfast” – the difficulties in life faced by carers with family responsibilities, “The Most Beautiful Moment on Earth” – breastfeeding discrimination, “Swan Lake” – racial inclusion, “Holiday of Love” – pregnancy discrimination, “Miss Grey” – mental health and illness, “Filial Piety” – special educational needs, and “Overstepping the Rules” – sexual harassment. The challenges encountered by the characters are closely related to community members at large.

To promote the production, a theme song “I Believe” has been produced and released. Composed by local musician with visual impairment Mr LEE Hin, with lyrics written by Ms CHEUNG Mei-yin, the song was performed by Mr Steven MA. Members of the public can watch the music video via the following link: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4kxD8oNOvs

Apart from watching the eight individual episodes of the short movie series, members of the public can also enjoy a special edition of the film on the EOC’s website and YouTube channel, which features an interview with EOC Chairperson Mr Ricky CHU Man-kin, Convenor of the EOC’s Community Participation and Publicity Committee Mr Gary WONG Chi-him, and Deputy Convenor Ms Rabi YIM Chor-pik. They elaborated and shared their views on the discrimination issues raised in the stories, helping viewers to better understand how the public are protected under the anti-discrimination ordinances in Hong Kong, including Sex Discrimination Ordinance, Disability Discrimination Ordinance, Family Status Discrimination Ordinance and Race Discrimination Ordinance.

Mr Ricky CHU said, “To sum up my feelings after watching the movie series, I would say that sweet aftertaste needs time and effort, and there is after all love in the world. The sweet aftertaste always comes after bitterness. I hope the episodes of the ‘Under the Same Sky’ short movie series can make the audiences appreciate the love and sympathy around us, and join us in putting an end to discrimination.”

From 14 May 2023 onwards, members of the public can watch the movie series and read the synopsis of each episode on the webpage of the “Under the Same Sky” short movie series: https://www.eoc.org.hk/en/UnderSameSky. Snapshots are also available on the webpage for download.

The EOC has already lined up a series of activities to promote the movie series, including MTR-lightbox and bus-body advertising, as well as social media promotions. Watch out for more updates on the EOC’s website and social media platforms.

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Equal Opportunities Commission 
11 May 2023

Short Movie Series “Under the Same Sky”: Bus body advertisement

Short Movie Series “Under the Same Sky”: MTRC lightbox advertisement