The Introduction posits that Hong Kong cultural identity is intertwined with law, and traces the historical development of how this came to be so. Drawing on the notion of the politics of disappearance by cultural theorist Ackbar Abbas, it argues that the major constitutional controversies in the city threaten, or are perceived to threaten, this sense of selfhood. It further argues that through its diverse modes of representation, film provides a forum for the visual expression of identity, and registers the ways in which it reacts to these controversies.