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Header image courtesy of WISE and Rachel Maia–Back to Real Rock
Women in Sports Empowered Hong Kong (WISE) is holding its 2024 film festival on Saturday, 1 June! The Wise Film Festival 2024 promotes the importance of sports through women’s empowering stories of resilience, diversity, and conversation. The central theme, “Beyond the Finish Line,” is based on a group of remarkable women breaking down barriers in sports and kickstarting the discussion about the crucial role of inclusion in the field. The festival’s screening lineup consists of seven short films followed by a panel discussion.
Unseen Peaks and Rachel Maia—Back to Real Rock tackle the topic of disability in sports, featuring the story of Addie, a blind woman who found solace through skiing, ice climbing, and rock climbing, and the tale of Rachel, who is on the road to climbing outdoors again after an amputation. 23.4 Degrees and Apayauq take us on the journeys of Canadian skier Anna Segal, and Apayauq Reitan’s Alaskan dog sled race.
The Destiny of a Sherpa Woman is set in the Everest region and follows Yangji’s path to independence and her relationship with the mountains. Raised by Sand & Salty Water, though the eyes of skateboarder Wafa Heboul, explores the sport’s influence in her home country Morocco and more widely in Arabic culture. Emblematic of what the festival stands for, Ascend is the real-life story of a female climbing school in Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban’s return to power.
Through these films and the panel discussion, WISE hopes to inspire young girls attending. The movies on show help to foster representation in sports, giving young girls many role models they can relate and look up to. Proceeds from the Wise Film Festival 2024, as well as any donations on the day, will go to the non-profit’s female-empowerment-through-sports programmes currently ongoing at 12 secondary schools around Hong Kong, aiding them reaching out to even more girls.
Tickets to the film festival are now on sale here. Get yours before they sell out!
Born and raised in the French countryside, Lily arrived in Hong Kong looking for an adventure. Passionate about books, she spent some time in Parisian publishing houses and is the author of an illustrated book about hair. Life in Hong Kong for her entails looking for seaside places to eat and a lot of hiking.
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