Utopians explores several themes traditionally regarded as 'taboo' in Hong Kong society and features full-frontal male nudity in several scenes. It is the sixth of seven publicly released films by Scud. The six other films are
City Without Baseball in 2008,
Permanent Residence in 2009,
Amphetamine in 2010,
Love Actually... Sucks! in 2011,
Voyage in 2013 and
Thirty Years of Adonis (which features footage from
Utopians) in 2017. The eighth film,
Apostles, was made in 2022, as was the ninth,
Bodyshop, but neither have yet been released. The tenth and final film,
Naked Nations: Hong Kong Tribe, is currently in production.
Utopians includes a scene in which the main character, played by mainland China actor Adonis He Fei, is shown completely naked stroking his erect penis as he sighs with pleasure until he ejaculates in the uncut version of the film. The film's director, Scud, says that he drew inspiration for the film from the writings of Plato and the culture of
Ancient Greece, which he describes as the "best era of mankind" when being gay was mainstream, and that "the dream of a utopian life" is one where education "serves to enhance love instead of forbid it", and that this became clear to him ever since he was aware of the sexual alternatives available. Scud says that he fell into depression after making his fifth film,
Voyage, and was considering ending his career. But one day a 19-year-old boy came to him and talked about his story of having fallen in love with a policeman, and about a Japanese writer whose work Scud had read extensively when he was younger. He felt his next film should pay tribute to the period of enlightenment brought about by great philosophers and artists. Scud says that Utopians took only weeks to write and shoot. He also experimented with a more "democratic" method of film-making by consulting the cast on the roles they most preferred to take and encouraging them to resolve matters among themselves, much like the situation in ancient times. Casting was conducted openly in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, with over 300 attending in Hong Kong on a particularly stormy day. The film's leading man, Adonis He Fei, is an actor from mainland China. His agent provided a resume so that He could fit
Utopians into his busy filming schedule. ==Main cast==