How ‘old Hong Kong’ went viral: filmmaker Jazzie Sillona has clocked nearly 500,000 Instagram followers with nostalgia-tinged images capturing the simple street scenes that define a city
- Filmmaker Jazzie Sillona’s nostalgia-tinged views have gained a huge audience on Instagram – from the Star Ferry and Disneyland to street scenes and hiking trails, his iPhone pictures and videos show the beauty in simple, everyday things
- He has also hosted workshops, launched his own filters on Instagram, and clients for his company Jazzie Films have included Hong Kong Tourism Board – just don’t call him an influencer
In late 2022, filmmaker Jazzie Sillona decided to post his first Instagram video featuring everyday Hong Kong moments and sights, ranging from the Star Ferry crossing the busy harbour and rides at Disneyland, to the picturesque hiking trails of the Southside, all shot on his iPhone.
It immediately went viral, and his follower count quickly hit six digits.
Three hundred videos and 450,000-plus followers later, Sillona has become a de facto spokesperson for the city thanks to his roving eye and dreamy, nostalgic videos.
“Funnily enough I wasn’t even here when I posted the first video, although the idea was to remind people who left during Covid that the city was still alive, and just as beautiful,” he says. “There wasn’t anything out there [on social media] that portrayed Hong Kong the way I saw – maybe why it resonated with so many people.”
Born and raised in the Middle East, Sillona, now in his mid-thirties, has been passionate about film since he was a teenager, when he would often host “premieres” at home for his family showcasing the short vlogs and music videos he made using his old-school Nokia phone, Sony digital camera and laptop.
While studying business at university in Manila, he made his first trip to Hong Kong and instantly fell in love with the city’s film-set vibes, dizzying skyscrapers and boundless opportunities.
In his final year, he managed to snag an internship working with a local fashion company, where he flexed his filmmaking skills producing offbeat training videos, which immediately got him noticed.