- "The fireworks are awesome, but are you happy?" College elites Maryanne and Yin were deeply in love, but they couldn't be together because of political pressure - "Apart" is a poem about the sorrows and tough choices faced by the new generation in China-controlled Hong Kong - pragmatic life or fight for democracy? When UK passed Hong Kong and her 7-million people to Communist China in 1997, China promised a 'gradual and full' democracy in 10 years. Twenty years passed; nothing happened. This was the world Maryanne and Yin grew up in, and what drew them into the Umbrella Movement in 2014 to express their discontent over China's manipulation of Hong Kong's elections. They were joined by Shi, a new immigrant from China herself and Maryanne's best friend. But what started as a peaceful week-long strike soon evolved into a months-long occupation movement that ultimately failed. This forced Maryanne and Yin to face their differences rather than their ideals. When they split, Shi became Yin's soulmate and moved with him to US after graduation. Four years went by. Maryanne became a determined democracy fighter. When she bumped into Yin again, who had returned for business ventures in China, their hot passion re-ignited. But this was hurting Shi who yearned only for a peaceful life away from politics. When Yin finally made his tough choice, however, he was only to learn from Maryanne her tough choice too - "There are paths we have to take, not because we want to take..."
- Set against Hong Kong's explosive politics from the student-led Umbrella Movement to the unprecedented Anti-Extradition Movement: Five young students discover the harsh reality of socio-political impact on their life and relationship, as they fight through their way from seeking democracy to defending their freedom from fear.
Maryanne and Yin are committed lovers at university. Historic events threaten to pull them apart when they and Maryanne's best friend Shi, and Yin's cousin Toh, join a nascent student strike to achieve their long-stolen democracy. Jessica, Yin's and Toh's remote cousin born in Hong Kong but raised in US, join them.
When idealism meets reality and the personal meets the political, they find they are weathering through storms of impacts on their goals and relationship in the midst of social turmoil. Yin faces opposition from his family whose business is seriously hampered by city-wide blockades, while Maryanne becomes ever more committed to the cause. Despite their pure feelings binding them together, will the strain of their respective ties and the socio-political chaos tear them apart?
Years after when Maryanne has become a legislator and Yin a venture capitalist getting into the Chinese market, they face an even tougher pull as the chasm between their goals and responsibilities deepens. Passion and love are the incentives of revolution, but will they get lost in their own ups and downs?
Charting some of the most vital moments in Hong Kong's history, "Apart" is a handsomely lensed romance and heartfelt family drama mixed with documentary and fictional footages that tracks the characters from their free-thinking teens into adulthood bundled with responsibilities and hesitation. When the night is deep and the crowds are gone, and when one gets to sit down and reflect, is lost youth a mere regret or inevitable in growing up?
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