Evening Screening and Discussion
Registration 6:45 pm
Screening 7:00 pm
Discussion 8:00 pm
Close 8:30 pm

George Chinnery was one of the first and most notable of all 19th century European artists to live in Southern China prior to the arrival of photography. His sketches, watercolors, and oil paintings are held in private collections and museums worldwide. Now, for the first time on film, the life and works of the artist are depicted during his years in Macau at the height of the China Trade.

The documentary is presented and narrated by Dr. Patrick Conner, a world-renowned expert on China Trade paintings. Conner arrives in Macau and retraces Chinnery's footsteps, visiting many of the artist’s favorite sketching locations, highlighting the significance of the artist’s work on the study of Chinese culture and the impact of the European traders in Macau and China during the turbulent years surrounding the first Opium War. Historical references include quotes from the American diarist Harriet Low. The screening will be followed by a discussion about the Macau past and present in the George Chinnery story.

Campbell McLean has a long association with Hong Kong and has worked throughout the region as a writer, producer, director, and creative production consultant. His first project in Hong Kong was in 1985 with British independent filmmaker Hugh Gibb, filming the China Story in Guangzhou. He has also worked in Hong Kong as a producer with David Tsui of Moviola Productions and Mark Erder at APV. In 2008 Campbell moved to Macau to launch a Chinese language online video channel producing original short form content about Macau. It was there that he saw the opportunity to produce a documentary about one of its most famous residents George Chinnery.

Terry O’Toole has over 35 years of experience in TV and video production as award-winning editor and director. Terry arrived in Hong Kong in the early eighties working as creative director for China Entertainment Television [CETV] followed by Centro Digital Pictures. He has directed commercials in the UK, Australia and Hong Kong, and numerous documentary projects for Lusa, Hong Kong Tourism Board, Macau Government Tourist Office, and the Shanghai Tourist Board. His recent broadcast credits include In The Footsteps of George Chinnery and Falling Through The Ropes one-hour TV special for National Geographic Channel. 

Jill Rigg is a pioneer of a number of commercial businesses in Hong Kong and China. She was a regular guest on Radio HK, Commercial Radio and various TV stations in Hong Kong and NTK Japan. Jill was a founder member of HK Heritage Association as an activist for the preservation of buildings. She also contributed research to the Antiquities and Monuments Department of HKSAR under Dr. Solomon Bard. Jill is a long-serving member of the Royal Asiatic Society and Asia Society. In The Footsteps of George Chinnery is her first television project and Jill was instrumental in linking the production with all of the major collectors of Chinnery’s works in Hong Kong.

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