【Section 2: Local Directors and Their Inspirational Classics】Beautiful Game Director's Choice -Billy Elliot

· 2000 Cannes Film Festival, France

· 2000 Toronto International Film Festival, Canada

· 2001 The 73rd Academy Awards, U.S - nomination for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress

Billy Elliot is a film about passion, perseverance, and breaking stereotypes. The father’s resistance to Billy’s dream of dancing reflects a deep conflict between tradition and identity, something that also resonates in my film, Beautiful Game. In my story, a father struggles to accept his son as a football player, reflecting a mindset still present in Macao, where sports are seen more as a hobby than a viable career. Both films explore the fight for dreams in societies that impose limits on what is considered a legitimate future.