Chris Kyme (pictured above) continues his ‘Postcard from Hong Kong’ series after returning to Hong Kong from a month in the UK – seeing family, soaking up Spring, and enjoying a few pints of Neck Oil (love it) – I found an unexpected gift in my mailbox: an invitation from Edward Bell, Cathay Pacific’s CMO, to a premiere screening of a new ten-minute film celebrating the airline’s 80th anniversary from their agency Leo Hong Kong (Publicis Groupe).
The Journey Home tells the raw, tender story of a mother and daughter, framed against the constant rumble of planes passing by in the sky above their home. Hong Kong’s flagship airline hums through the girl’s life like a second heartbeat—from the day she leaves to the moment she returns (oops, plot spoiler). It’s an aching, heart-wrenching tale, beautifully brought to life.
Crafting a ten-minute brand film that grips you all the way to the final frame is no small feat. YouTube is littered with five-minute attempts that induce a yawn after ninety seconds. You’re not fighting for thirty seconds of attention (most ads today don’t even clear that low bar). You have to think like a filmmaker. And making a genuinely watchable movie with a real story? Tough ask. Just ask any director.
To pull this off in a branded ten-minute film, you need two things: powerful storytelling and a director with a track record in delivering. Thankfully, Cathay turned to Hong Kong’s own David Tsui, the veteran Moviola founder who is one of the best in the business at drawing out truthful, raw performances from good actors.
And so there we all were—clients, film folks, creative types, cast and crew—gathered inside SoHo House in Sheung Wan for an exclusive private viewing.
Ed Bell eased us in with a short preamble, followed by a slick BBC-produced Cathay documentary (also nicely made). He explained how The Journey Home was designed to strike a chord with anyone who grew up with Cathay Pacific woven into the fabric of their lives. To me, Cathay has always been more than an airline. It’s an international badge for Hong Kong, something to hold up with pride. It feels as autentically Hong Kong as the warm comfort of a steaming bowl of wonton noodles on a cold winter night, as the clatter of a tram up Des Voeux Road, the slow churn of the Star Ferry across Victoria harbour, or cross-sticking masking tape over your windows when Typhoon Signal No. 3 goes up.
We all carry our own Cathay memories, especially if you’ve been around long enough (I have, gulp) to remember planes shakily threading the needle between apartment blocks to land at the old Kai Tak airport. I used to live right under that flight path, over in To Kwa Wan. I’d stand out on the rooftop terrace and watch them come in—tilting sideways, seeming close enough to touch. Back then, I loved living the local side of Hong Kong life: dinners at the dai pai dong below with a few beers and the odd fingers game of “15-20” across the table. As an ad man, I drank it all in. It brought me closer to the people I was trying to reach with ideas.
So I could relate to the film, and I won’t lie, as the story unfolded, I felt a little lump in my throat. I’m just a big softy. And this emotional connection was always the intention, as Ed told me.
“The film reminds Hong Kong people of the emotional journeys many have experienced, leaving home, staying connected, and returning, while celebrating the collective memories Cathay has been part of over 80 years.”
Ultimately, it reinforces a sense of pride in Hong Kong, showing how the city and Cathay have grown together—and that no matter how far people travel, Hong Kong will always remain “home.”
This film arrives as part of Cathay’s award-winning 80th-anniversary celebrations, created with their agency Leo Hong Kong. I found myself wondering: did the idea come from the agency, or was it the client’s brief?
“As we approached our 80th anniversary, we wanted to mark the milestone in a meaningful way by reflecting on the role Cathay has played in people’s lives across generations. Our brief to the agency was to bring this to life through storytelling, drawing from the real experiences of our passengers and the moments we’ve shared with them over the past eight decades.”
And what about the director’s input? David is famous for writing his own scripts and often takes briefs directly from clients (hey, who needs agencies, right?).
“In our initial draft, we had envisioned a shorter, five-minute film. However, as we collaborated with director David Tsui, it became clear that the emotional arc of the story, especially the mother-daughter journey, needed more space to fully unfold. This led to the film evolving into a 10-minute piece. Rather than fundamentally changing the narrative, David expanded on it, adding more nuance, pacing, and detail to bring out the emotional highs and lows of the journey. This aligns with the final film’s intent to be a more contemplative, long-form piece that reflects on life’s milestones and Cathay’s role in them. Ultimately, the direction stayed faithful to the original idea of telling a relatable, human story inspired by shared passenger experiences but the longer format allowed it to land with greater emotional resonance and richness.”
To be honest and speaking from experience, one of the most challenging parts of any film job is for the creative team to let go and give the director some space and freedom. To let them sharpen the storytelling, adding those inspired, unscripted touches that lift something from good to exceptional. If you’ve hired David Tsui, step back and let him work. He’s got over forty years of award-winning showreel behind him.
You feel David in every shot. Every angle. Every close-up that catches a fiery glance or a trembling lip. Letting him loose on ten minutes of story is like pointing a high-performance roadster down a winding country road and flooring it.
Crikey. Now I sound like a sales pitch, don’t I? I don’t mean to. But the film is well worth a watch. It’s the kind of work I personally would love to see Hong Kong Tourist Board making—showing this city at its warts and all, dazzling best. Hiring the best creative talent we have right on our doorstep to sell Hong Kong to the world.
As Ed Bell put it “At its heart, the film is a love letter to Hong Kong and the shared journey between the city, its people, and Cathay.”
Well I, for one, enjoyed reading that letter.
Afterwards we had a short Q&A, where I managed to squeeze in just one customary joke before slipping out quietly into the night and returning home myself, to sit down and start writing a letter of my own.
