Trams rumbling along the tracks, a man pushing a cart along a side street, a worker sweeping leaves on the pavement – while some might consider these to be mundane moments in Hong Kong, videographer Jazzie Sillona uses these everyday subjects as inspiration for his viral videos, to the delight of people worldwide.
“I get a lot of DMs from people expressing their good memories of Hong Kong and how nostalgic it is for them,” said Sillona. “Sometimes they even say, ‘I cried over your videos.’”
“I get messages from people saying that one of the reasons they moved back to Hong Kong was because my videos [reminded them of] the magic ... like they fell in love again ... and that’s really touching.”
The filmmaker rose to social media fame rather unexpectedly after posting a video of Hong Kong to his Instagram account, @jazziesillona, in late 2022.
Sillona, now in his mid-30s, explained that he had wanted to inspire people who left Hong Kong during the pandemic to return.
“I showed them the neighbourhood side of Hong Kong not usually shown on most tourist accounts,” he explained.
It helped him gain traction. “After a month or two, I had gained 100,000 [followers],” he said; he is now nearing 500,000.
From a hobby to a career
Sillona’s interest in film started at a young age. He grew up in Qatar and loved to watch movies with his family, such as The Parent Trap and Home Alone. He also enjoyed making home movies, filming his friends and classmates on birthdays and special occasions.
During university in Manila, Sillona studied nursing and business, opting not to pursue film because he worried his family would not support it. But he still kept it up as a hobby, making videos for friends.
He first visited Hong Kong as a tourist in 2014; one memory that stood out for him was leaving the airport, sitting on the double-decker bus as it flew across the Tsing Ma Bridge.
“It felt like a movie for me. I used to watch Jackie Chan movies growing up with my dad, [and they] were made in Hong Kong. I thought, ‘Oh, I feel like I’m in a movie right now.’”
It wasn’t until he moved to Hong Kong in 2019 that his hobby became a career. He worked as a freelance photographer and videographer before starting his own production company, Jazzie Films, in 2022. Now, he is busier than ever, inundated with opportunities to collaborate with brands and create content.
Tip for future filmmakers
Seeing these beautifully shot videos on your Instagram feed, you might assume Sillona uses expensive, high-quality equipment. In reality, he shoots everything on an iPhone.
There’s a reason for it, Sillona explained: he wants people to understand that filmmaking can be accessible even for those without expensive cameras.
“I use an iPhone because I wanted to inspire everyone [and let them know] they can also do it,” Sillona said. “Whatever I’m capturing, it’s all because I’m being observant. I’m trying to be appreciative or [find] the beauty in the ordinary.
Sillona encouraged anyone with a smartphone to try filmmaking, saying: “Just start and keep exploring.”
With the video-making and editing fields over-saturated thanks to social media, Sillona highlighted the importance of creating something “impactful” to gain traction and appeal to people’s emotions.
It’s also crucial to find balance between shooting content for others and making what you enjoy, otherwise you risk losing your motivation.
“Sometimes you forget who you are creating for – is it for yourself or your audience? That’s the hardest part, I think, in trying to avoid burnout,” Sillona said.
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You should also be open to change; Sillona’s own filming style has evolved since coming to Hong Kong.
“I used to be in love with moving my camera a lot, and now I’m doing more static shots,” he said. “My colour grading also changed to a more cinematic filming ... like vintage.”
His style reflects his mission to tap into Hong Kong’s nostalgia and beautiful chaos and help people remember what they love about the city.
“It’s fulfilling because I get to touch people, even in a small way, and remind them of home or good memories,” he said. “When they watch my videos, at least it’s easing their homesickness.”
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