For nearly a year, I took my camera with me everywhere, to film, record, capture. I shot these images of Hong Kong in December 2015, when my film Taj Mahal was presented at the Hong Kong French Film Festival.
I hadn't returned to Hong Kong since 1991 and, at that time, I had been overawed: everything was more quick, more powerful, more intense than in Western capitals. But since then, our world has changed and the surprise of seeing a passerby talking to their mobile phone in a Kowloon street in 1991 is now a banal image across the planet. Hence, this time, Hong Kong seemed less hysterical. More melancholic. And even more beautiful. Hong Kong Solitude pays homage to the city, as well as to its filmmakers who I've always admired. Without Xavier Mahé's enthusiasm, this film would never have seen the light of day. Likewise without the obstinacy of Romain Rivière and Julien Crozet. I wish to thank all three.
Nicolas Saada