Mother of Buffalo is a documentary film following one woman’s daily, years-long struggle to protect a dwindling population of free-roaming water buffalo on Hong Kong’s Lantau Island.

Every day for 18 years, Jean Leung has looked after her beloved buffalo children. But time is running out and this may be the final generation. Jean’s lone mission is to ensure their future. She faces strong and growing headwinds: a government sterilization campaign and unchecked development of their once-protected habitat place the buffalo in a precarious situation. Yet the buffalo, and hope, remain. Jean has vowed to fight to the end.

It’s a story of perseverance, of the connection and conflict between humans and nature, and of a rarely-seen side of Hong Kong amidst transformative change. We've completed filming after 6 years and have already cut together a half-hour first part that has screened at schools, museums, community events across Hong Kong, and is showing around the world on Cathay Pacific in-flight entertainment. But that's just the first two years of the story and we are working to expand this into a feature-length documentary covering the full 6 year story... but we need your help to get there.

Check out the trailer!

Meet our main subject, Jean

In 2008, a male buffalo limped into Jean’s garden with a badly broken leg—he had been hit by a bus. She worked with the local vet to nurse him back to health, but he was forever hobbled. So Jean promised to look after him forever. She named him Ngau Ngau, and began bringing him meals each day. Before long, she began looking after all 100+ buffalo on Lantau Island. She is well known locally, with many friends and supporters, but there is also a vocal contingent of “buffalo haters” (as she puts it) intent on removing the buffalo from Lantau.

Meet a few of the featured water buffalo

Every buffalo is a unique character with a distinct personality. They have names. Jean knows them all and can tell you their family lineage, favorite (and hated) foods, and complicated relationships. Learn their stories by watching the film!

Discover a rarely-seen side of Hong Kong

The largest of Hong Kong’s 250+ islands, Lantau Island a natural treasure. National parks occupy more than half of its land mass. Sparsely populated dating back to the Bronze Age, its northern half has changed rapidly recently, with the construction of Discovery Bay, the Hong Kong Airport, and Disneyland. South Lantau remains relatively untouched, a collection of parks, protected wetlands, and small villages linked by a single major road. There are plans to develop South Lantau in ways that would dramatically change its natural environment and threaten the buffalos’ ever-shrinking habitat.

Documentary as cinema

Mother of Buffalo is not a traditional documentary, with “talking head” interviews and newsreel b-roll. It is a story. The film is the experience of being there together with Jean and the buffalo, with me, the director, as your guide, providing context with my narration in a folkloric style.

I wish to engage the viewer with cinema as this story unfolds before them, guided by an observational style with carefully selected framing, and minimalist editing. I have conducted extensive research, including numerous interviews with experts in the local environment, local historians, government officials, members of the community, and Jean and her friends and family. I am also a member of this tight-knit South Lantau community. This informs the narration that guides the viewer through our story, illuminating the evolving backdrop that is Hong Kong’s Lantau Island.

The film is a journey to learn where the buffalo came from, how and why Jean does her work, and how Lantau and Hong Kong are adapting to rapid, dramatic change.

A project with momentum

We've already come a long way, and we are gaining momentum! We've filmed for six years, and completed a half hour first section of the film, which has screened at schools, museums, and community events across Hong Kong, and worldwide on Cathay Pacific flights. This was possible due to funding support from The Swire Group Charitable Trust and the Austin Film Society. In the last three months we've grown our Instagram channel into a 28K+ highly engaged community, and adding more followers each day.

What we need and how we'll use it

We aim to raise $25,000 to cover the costs to finish editing, sound design, translation, and subtitles. That's a finished feature film before the end of the year! If we can exceed our goals and raise as much as $50,000, that will allow us to do a professional color grade, original score, a real marketing campaign, and cover the costs of festival submissions.