Perfect Pitch
FILMAID ASIA GALA DINNER
Pitch Perfect breakout star Rebel Wilson drew cheers and applause when she took to the stage at Filmaid Asia’s fifth annual gala dinner, which was held at the Holiday Inn Golden Mile. Speaking of her love for Chinese cuisine and the sightseeing she’d been doing, the Australian-born Hollywood star had the crowd in stitches when she recalled her trip to Lantau, famous for its wild cows, to see the Big Buddha. “Look at that big cow!” she’d heard someone yell, and “for once they weren’t talking about me,” she joked. Rebel continued to riff on the upside of being in Asia: “You know, my chances of scoring in Hong Kong are better than back home. With no more onechild policy and the surplus of men in China, who knows, I may get lucky tonight. Just to let you know, I’ll marry any Chinese billionaire—or any guy that knows how to make dumplings.” After the laughter died down, Rebel presented Filmaid Asia’s Humanitarian Award to local filmmaker Jessey Tsang Tsui-shan. Once the formalities were wrapped up, disco king Andrew Bull, aka DJ El Toro, had everyone out of their seats and onto the dancefloor quick smart. The evening’s entertainment also included a short but lively auction, the highlight of which was a personal video shoot with Rebel, which sold for HK$230,000. The event raised HK$2.9 million for Filmaid Asia’s work with refugees on the Thai-myanmar border and the Chicken Soup Foundation in Hong Kong. The activities include filmmaking within communities to address local issues ranging from hygiene, landmine awareness and gender-based violence, to media arts training programmes, plus running indoor and outdoor screenings to provide entertainment and education.