[6] McAlister originally wanted to be a performer but “early on, I realised I was rubbish and found that directing was my forte – to suit my bossy personality”.

[7] After graduating, McAlister formed a company, Talking Pictures, which was supported by the Arts Council of Great Britain.

[9] She joined Liverpool-based company 489 as a creator and performer, then became arts programmer for the Menai Centre in Anglesey.

However, she felt strongly that she should stay in Hong Kong, so “I rang the UK and resigned!”[12] She spent a year teaching English in a kindergarten, choreographing fashion shows and as an artist-in-residence for Quarry Bay Primary School.

Her intention was that she “didn’t want anybody to have to pay for anything”[18] so needed to find external funding to cover all expenses.

Initially, unable to find a sponsor due to her lack of track record in Hong Kong, she took out a personal overdraft to cover the costs of the first two-week festival.

She sent a copy of the festival brochure to everyone she had approached for sponsorship, including Po Chung, the then-head of DHL (Asia).