Europeans and Americans have long documented their love of dogs and now a Hong Kong filmmaker has done the same.
Angie Chen's documentary, This Darling Life, explores the relationship between the city's residents and their canine friends, reflecting on the joyful moments and grief when their pets died, got sick or went missing.
The film was inspired by Baby, one of the director's two Pomeranians, which fell ill and eventually died at the age of 16.
After a two-decade hiatus from filmmaking, Chen picked up a video camera again, filming Baby and her other dog Jessie at home before she interviewed other dog lovers in the city.
This Darling Life is Hong Kong's first feature-length documentary that focuses on animal-human relations. It features an eclectic cast of characters, including the 58-year-old director, guitarist-singer Paul Wong Koon-chung of the band Beyond and his dog, Bach, and Hong Kong Dog Rescue's Sally Andersen, whose visit to the government kennels changed the course of her life.
Most of the characters in the film are from humble backgrounds, however, and they include a homeless man living under a bridge with his dog, a woman who takes her mongrel out in a baby carriage because dogs aren't allowed in her apartment block and a veterinarian nurse who finances and runs a private animal shelter.
