Hong Kong Social Realist Film We’re Nothing at All Earns Praise at U.S. West Coast Premiere in Los Angeles

LAPost/Culver City, CA (October 10, 2026) — By Richard Ren/LAPost

Hong Kong filmmaker Herman Yau’s We’re Nothing at All held its U.S. West Coast premiere on the evening of October 10 at the historic Culver City Theatre in Los Angeles. Yau attended with leading actors Anson Kong and ANSONBEAN for a post-screening discussion with nearly 200 audience members about the film’s social realities, human dilemmas and the consequences of how people treat one another. The event drew enthusiastic support from local Hong Kong immigrant communities and Chinese-language film enthusiasts.

The screening and post-film discussion received positive responses from film industry professionals and critics. Acclaimed Hong Kong filmmaker Barbara Wong traveled from New York specifically for the event, praising Yau’s willingness to challenge conventional storytelling by placing controversial characters at the center of the narrative and inviting audiences to understand the circumstances surrounding their choices. Georges N. Chamchoum, CEO of the Asian World Film Festival (AWFF) and a veteran Hollywood director and producer, also praised the film’s combination of genre-driven suspense and social relevance from the perspectives of filmmaking and international cinema.

Yau received a nomination for Best Director at the 63rd Golden Horse Awards for the film, while Anson Kong was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Written and directed by Yau, the film stars Patrick Tam Yiu Man, Anson Kong and ANSONBEAN.

From Leading Film Schools to a Los Angeles Premiere

The team’s U.S. promotional tour included appearances at two of Southern California’s leading universities. On October 7, Yau and his two young co-stars visited the USC School of Cinematic Arts. On October 9, they continued to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where they met with students, faculty members and film enthusiasts. Following the campus screenings and discussions, the film brought its U.S. West Coast premiere to the wider Los Angeles community.

The post-screening discussion at Culver City Theatre was moderated by filmmaker Kenneth Bi and featured Yau, Kong and ANSONBEAN. Other attendees included filmmaker Steve Woo, actress Betty Sun, and Richard Ren, vice chairman of the Chinese American Film Association in Los Angeles and a film critic.

Herman Yau: Pay More Attention to the Unintentional Harm We Cause

We’re Nothing at All is more than a conventional crime thriller. The story begins with an investigation into a devastating bus explosion, then turns its attention to the life experiences, emotional relationships and mounting desperation of people on society’s margins. Through their intertwined stories, the film examines how individual tragedies can be connected to broader social conditions.

During the post-screening discussion, Yau emphasized the film’s real-world message, urging audiences to reflect on the harm people can cause, sometimes without realizing it.

“Pay more attention to whether there is any unintentional malice in our daily lives. If there is, reduce it!” he said.

The remark offers an important perspective on the film. Although the tragedy at its center is extreme, Yau encourages viewers to look beyond the crime itself and consider the seemingly minor words, prejudices and actions that can repeatedly hurt others.

In an earlier interview, Yau discussed the limitations of viewing Hong Kong as an equally open and accepting society for everyone. The freedom and acceptance experienced by some groups do not necessarily reflect the circumstances of all members of society. By focusing on working-class and marginalized characters, he seeks to bring attention to lives and experiences that are often overlooked in mainstream narratives.

The film interweaves the criminal investigation with the lives of two young men, allowing audiences to gradually understand their circumstances while following the search for answers. This approach serves the suspense of the story while moving beyond a simple judgment of right and wrong to explore the complicated relationships among social exclusion, emotional trauma and personal choices.

Barbara Wong: A Bold and Important Film

In an interview with LAPost, Wong expressed strong admiration for Yau’s filmmaking. She described him as a director she has long respected, saying that We’re Nothing at All demonstrates his willingness to push the boundaries of conventional storytelling.

For Wong, one of the film’s most distinctive features is its decision to place characters involved in extreme acts of violence at the center of the story rather than treating them simply as villains in a conventional crime drama. Yau invites viewers to understand the world from the characters’ perspectives. Even when audiences cannot agree with their actions, they are encouraged to consider how these individuals reached such desperate circumstances.

Wong also highlighted the film’s same-sex relationship and the broader social questions it raises, noting that these issues transcend geographical boundaries. They can arise in Hong Kong, the United States or elsewhere in the world.

The film depicts a tragedy, she said, but also conveys a message worth considering. People may experience injustice and oppression and sometimes feel they have nowhere left to turn. Greater compassion and consideration between individuals, however, may help prevent some tragedies from occurring.

Wong characterized the film as bold, angry and passionate. By placing controversial characters at the center of its narrative and inviting audiences to consider their circumstances, Yau has created a work that extends beyond the crime genre and merits international attention.

International Film Professionals Recognize the Film’s Realist Approach

As CEO of the Asian World Film Festival, Chamchoum has extensive experience in international filmmaking and film festival exchanges. He expressed appreciation for the film’s realist approach and its potential to stimulate cross-cultural discussion.

From the perspective of international cinema, one of the film’s strengths is its combination of crime-thriller suspense with social issues and psychological complexity. Rather than limiting the narrative to an investigation and the eventual revelation of the truth, the film uses its characters’ fates to encourage audiences to consider the influence of social conditions, interpersonal relationships and the complex circumstances behind extreme events.

This balance between genre storytelling and social engagement gives the film room for discussion beyond Hong Kong, while offering international audiences a point of entry into the experiences of different communities within Hong Kong society.

UCLA Film Scholar Recommends the Film

The October 9 UCLA screening featured a post-film discussion moderated by Michael Berry, director of the UCLA Center for Chinese Studies and a leading scholar of Asian cinema.

In a subsequent social media post, Berry wrote that UCLA was fortunate to welcome the renowned Hong Kong filmmaker. He noted that he had followed Yau’s films for more than three decades and was delighted finally to meet him and discuss his creative journey. Berry also encouraged film enthusiasts to seek out the director’s latest work.

Richard Ren, vice chairman of the Chinese American Film Association in Los Angeles and a film critic, also praised the film on social media. Citing a description of it as “the highest-quality Hong Kong film of the year,” he called it a noteworthy example of contemporary Hong Kong social realism and commended the cast’s performances.

From UCLA to the Culver City Theatre, the film’s campus screenings, discussions and community premiere demonstrated how Chinese-language cinema can engage not only audiences familiar with Hong Kong filmmaking but also broader communities through academic film studies, international industry exchanges and local screenings.

Beyond the Crime Thriller: Questions of Society and Human Nature

The story begins with a bus explosion on the streets of Hong Kong on Valentine’s Day in 2025. The blast involving a double-decker bus causes severe casualties, prompting police to bring retired forensic expert Long Sir, played by Patrick Tam, back into the investigation.

As evidence emerges, investigators focus on two passengers: Fai, a construction worker played by Anson Kong, and Ike, a painter who was once expelled from his family home, played by ANSONBEAN. Their experiences gradually reveal the social pressures, emotional wounds and complicated personal relationships behind the case.

Running 128 minutes, the film is presented in Cantonese with English subtitles. It has screened at several international film festivals, won the Audience Choice Award at the 2026 Hong Kong International Film Festival, and been selected for the New York Asian Film Festival, the Far East Film Festival in Italy and the Taipei Film Festival.

For Los Angeles audiences, the U.S. West Coast premiere was more than a film screening. It was an opportunity for cross-cultural discussion about Hong Kong society, marginalized communities and the complexities of human behavior.

The questions raised by the film extend beyond any single city: When people face prejudice, exclusion and mounting pressures, can society respond with greater understanding? Can seemingly small acts of kindness help prevent tragedy?

The premiere also coincided with Kong’s birthday. Fans traveled from Hong Kong, New York, San Francisco, San Diego and the greater Los Angeles area to show their support, adding a celebratory dimension to the evening. Their orderly participation reflected the enthusiasm of overseas Hong Kong communities for the city’s cinema and its emerging performers.

We’re Nothing at All opens theatrically in select Los Angeles-area theaters beginning October 16, including the Laemmle Monica Film Center. With its theatrical release approaching, the Hong Kong film—framed as a crime thriller but grounded in social realism and reflections on human nature—is preparing to reach a wider American audience.