In January 2023, three graduates of Ying Wa Girls' School accused Cheung and the school authority of wrongdoing through the public distribution of To My Nineteen-Year-Old Self, the film commissioned by Cheung's alma mater Ying Wa Girls' School for an alumni fundraising project. Three of the six subjects of the film accused Ying Wa and Cheung of placing what was originally promised as an internal project on public screens without their consents. Katie Kong, one of the documentary’s subjects, said in an Instagram story that she had signed the consent after the film crew told her “everyone else” had done so. [6][7]
In the documentary, Cheung's camera follows six schoolgirls for over a decade to witness the agony and ecstasy of growing up during a turbulent time in Hong Kong.
Wai-sze Sarah Lee, Hong Kong professional track cyclist and bronze medalist in the women's keirin at the 2012 London Olympics, also accused Cheung and the crew of including an interview clip with her in the film without consent. In a radio interview Cheung admitted that she and the crew entered the venue of Asian Track Cycling Championships in Japan without a valid press permit. This raised the concern from the Hong Kong Sport Press Association of unauthorised interview events for non-press purposes. [8]
Cheung apologized and announced on 5 February the screenings of To My Nineteen Year Old Self will be suspended until all issues are clarified. [9]
^Marchetti, Gina (30 June 2016). "Handover women: Hong Kong women filmmakers and the intergenerational melodrama of infidelity". Feminist Media Studies. 16 (4): 590–609. doi:10.1080/14680777.2016.1193292 – via Taylor & Francis Online.
^Ford, Stacilee (2008). Mabel Cheung Yuen-Ting's An Autumn's Tale. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. p. 1. ISBN978-962-209-894-7.
^Marchetti, Gina (30 June 2016). "Handover women: Hong Kong women filmmakers and the intergenerational melodrama of infidelity". Feminist Media Studies. 16 (4): 590–609. doi:10.1080/14680777.2016.1193292 – via Taylor & Francis Online.
