# Zero to Hero (妈妈的神奇小子)
**Zero to Hero** (*妈妈的神奇小子*, also released under the English title *On Your Mom, Get Set, Go!*) is a 2021 Hong Kong biographical sports drama based on the life of Paralympic sprinter So Wa-wai (苏桦伟) and his mother, Hon Siu-ching (韩小贞), known as So Ma (苏妈)[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zero_to_hero) • [2](https://fareastfilms.com/fef-news/trailer-on-your-mom-get-set-go/). Directed by Jimmy Wan (尹志文) in his first solo feature and produced by and starring Sandra Ng (吴君如), the 102-minute [Cantonese](https://www.edgepedia.org/cantonese) film follows a Hong Kong athlete born with brain damage, spastic limbs, and severe hearing loss who became a Paralympic champion[3](https://hknt.hkiff.org.hk/zh/movie/zero-to-hero). It was selected as Hong Kong's entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the [94th Academy Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/94th-academy-awards)[4](https://scdnews.com/images/paper/211024/211024B.pdf).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Subject | The true story of Hong Kong Paralympic sprinter So Wa-wai and his mother So Ma[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zero_to_hero) |
| Director / producer | Jimmy Wan (director and co-writer, first solo feature); Sandra Ng as producer and lead[3](https://hknt.hkiff.org.hk/zh/movie/zero-to-hero) |
| Release | Hong Kong premiere 12 August 2021; mainland China release 4 September 2021[5](https://www.baike.com/wikiid/7179130971978170380) |
| Box office | Mainland China 17.77 million RMB; worldwide US$3,523,687; Hong Kong gross approaching HK$30 million by November 2021[5](https://www.baike.com/wikiid/7179130971978170380) • [6](https://www.scdnews.com/images/paper/211109/211109B.pdf) |
| Awards | Best Supporting Actor at the 40th Hong Kong Film Awards, plus multiple nominations; Golden Angel awards at the 2021 Chinese American Film Festival[5](https://www.baike.com/wikiid/7179130971978170380) |
| Oscar submission | Hong Kong's entry for Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards[4](https://scdnews.com/images/paper/211024/211024B.pdf) |
| Critical score | 75% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer, from 4 reviews[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zero_to_hero) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and subject
The film opens with the newborn So Wa-wai's diagnosis: jaundice damaged his brain at birth, leaving him with weak hearing and spastic limbs, and doctors doubted he would ever walk[3](https://hknt.hkiff.org.hk/zh/movie/zero-to-hero) • [7](https://www.eounit.hku.hk/zh/news-and-events/events/513-conquering-the-starting-line-of-life-screening-and-discussion-of-zero-to-hero-2). His mother refuses to give up on him; under her demanding training he learns to walk, and a running talent emerges that takes him into Hong Kong's para-athletics team as a teenager[3](https://hknt.hkiff.org.hk/zh/movie/zero-to-hero).
The story follows mother and son across roughly three decades, capturing the Hong Kong of the 1980s and 1990s and So's Paralympic career[8](https://www.screendaily.com/screen-network/hong-kong-oscar-submission-hero-to-zero-its-a-story-about-a-mothers-greatness-/5165860.article). In the film, the 13-year-old So (played by Fung Ho-yeung) is recruited into the city's para-athletics team by coach Fong (Louis Cheung Kai-chung) and wins his first gold medal as part of the Hong Kong men's 4×100m relay team at the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics[9](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3144643/zero-hero-movie-review-hong-kong-paralympic-champion-so-wa). The adult So is played by Leung Chung-hang (梁仲恒), a resident actor of the Chung Ying Theatre Company[10](https://m.wmoov.com/movie/details/44595).
A central conflict comes from money. Because full-time disability sport could not support the family in Hong Kong, So works as a courier and, at his mother's urging, appears in commercials, which drives the two apart; the film's emotional climax is their rupture over the advertising work[3](https://hknt.hkiff.org.hk/zh/movie/zero-to-hero) • [11](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%A6%88%E5%A6%88%E7%9A%84%E7%A5%9E%E5%A5%87%E5%B0%8F%E5%AD%90/23370218?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma). One line of dialogue, in which So says that the government allowance for disabled athletes was only HK$3,000 a month, drew wide online discussion about the lack of support for disabled athletes[12](https://collection.news/thestandnews/articles/156186).
## The real So Wa-wai
So Wa-wai was born in 1981 in [Guangzhou](https://www.edgepedia.org/guangzhou)[13](https://eduplus.hk/decoding-studies/dr-eva/20210921/). Jaundice affected his brain at birth, causing spasticity, cerebral palsy, and severe hearing loss[14](https://www.police.gov.hk/offbeat/1222/chi/index.html). His doctors advised his parents against treatment, suggesting they have another, healthy child instead[15](https://www.nshk.org.hk/pdf/c_awards/2009/117.pdf). He took his first steps at age four, and throughout kindergarten his mother took him to physical therapy to train his thigh muscles and improve his walking[16](https://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/tc/curriculum-development/kla/pshe/references-and-resources/ethics-and-religious-studies/moral-stories/16.pdf).
He began athletics training at 13 and first competed at the Paralympics in 1996, winning gold in the 4×100m relay[17](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fms7ojcfJ1U). From age 15 he represented Hong Kong in five [Paralympic Games](https://www.edgepedia.org/paralympic-games)[18](https://www.ohpama.com/795333/%E5%B0%88%E9%A1%8C/%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E5%B0%88%E8%A8%AA/%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E5%B0%88%E8%A8%AA-%E7%A5%9E%E5%A5%87%E5%B0%8F%E5%AD%90-%E8%98%87%E5%AA%BD-%E8%98%87%E6%A8%BA%E5%81%89/). At the 2000 Sydney Paralympics he won three golds and two bronzes, which earned him the nickname "Magic Kid" (神奇小子)[19](https://www.hkct.edu.hk/tc/abouthkct/media-centre/press-release/column-20210812). From 1996 onward he accumulated 26 gold medals and broke world records five times, taking six Paralympic running golds in total[14](https://www.police.gov.hk/offbeat/1222/chi/index.html) • [20](https://www.eduhk.hk/cms/f/press_invitation/24677/35865/Biographies%20of%20Honorary%20Doctors%20Honorary%20Fellows_tc.pdf). His most memorable race, in his own account, came at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics: after losing his first two events, he won his strongest event, the 200m, and broke the world record[14](https://www.police.gov.hk/offbeat/1222/chi/index.html).
Financial pressure shaped his career. After his father retired early following a work injury in 2002, the family of four lived on the government allowance for disabled athletes and savings; after So won gold at the 2004 Athens Paralympics, So Ma considered asking him to quit running for regular work, until the singer and actor [Andy Lau](https://www.edgepedia.org/andy-lau) offered him a well-paid job that let him keep training[13](https://eduplus.hk/decoding-studies/dr-eva/20210921/). So retired in 2016, citing a persistent back injury so severe he could not sit through a meal, and later worked with the Hong Kong Sports Association for the Physically Disabled and the Hong Kong Paralympic Committee[18](https://www.ohpama.com/795333/%E5%B0%88%E9%A1%8C/%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E5%B0%88%E8%A8%AA/%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E5%B0%88%E8%A8%AA-%E7%A5%9E%E5%A5%87%E5%B0%8F%E5%AD%90-%E8%98%87%E5%AA%BD-%E8%98%87%E6%A8%BA%E5%81%89/) • [20](https://www.eduhk.hk/cms/f/press_invitation/24677/35865/Biographies%20of%20Honorary%20Doctors%20Honorary%20Fellows_tc.pdf).
## Production and release
Jimmy Wan had previously co-written screenplays with Pang Ho-cheung, including *Isabella* (2006) and *Love Off the Cuff* (2017), and co-directed shorts and features with Derek Tsang before making *Zero to Hero* his first solo directorial feature[3](https://hknt.hkiff.org.hk/zh/movie/zero-to-hero). Sandra Ng produced the film and played So Ma; the cast also includes Leung Chung-hang, Louis Cheung, and Tony Wu[10](https://m.wmoov.com/movie/details/44595) • [21](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo5yR2w8Z04). So Wa-wai's real-life mother, Hon Siu-ching, joined Wan and Ng in promotion, describing the project as a story about a mother's greatness[8](https://www.screendaily.com/screen-network/hong-kong-oscar-submission-hero-to-zero-its-a-story-about-a-mothers-greatness-/5165860.article). Wan said his main purpose in making the film was to remind Hong Kong audiences of So Wa-wai and of other little-known disabled athletes[22](https://www.hk01.com/%E7%A4%BE%E6%9C%83%E6%96%B0%E8%81%9E/666921/%E5%AA%BD%E5%AA%BD%E7%9A%84%E7%A5%9E%E5%A5%87%E5%B0%8F%E5%AD%90-%E5%B0%8E%E6%BC%94%E7%B1%B2%E9%97%9C%E6%B3%A8%E6%AE%98%E9%9A%9C%E9%81%8B%E5%8B%95%E5%93%A1-%E5%95%B2%E4%BA%BA%E7%9C%9F%E4%BF%82%E5%94%94%E8%A8%98%E5%BE%97%E8%98%87%E6%A8%BA%E5%81%89).
The film premiered in Hong Kong on 12 August 2021 and opened in mainland China on 4 September 2021[5](https://www.baike.com/wikiid/7179130971978170380). Its Hong Kong run was unusually long: 72 days after release, in late October 2021, the film was still in cinemas[4](https://scdnews.com/images/paper/211024/211024B.pdf), Ng had attended some 500 post-screening thank-you events, and the gross was approaching HK$30 million[6](https://www.scdnews.com/images/paper/211109/211109B.pdf). On 22 October 2021 it was announced as Hong Kong's submission for the 94th Academy Awards[4](https://scdnews.com/images/paper/211024/211024B.pdf).
## Reception and awards
On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 75% Tomatometer score from four reviews[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zero_to_hero). Richard Kuipers of *Variety* wrote that the film is "kept on course by excellent lead performances"[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zero_to_hero). Allan Hunter of *Screen International* described director Jimmy Wan as serving up "a mountain range of emotional peaks" and noted that the film is not for cynical viewers[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zero_to_hero). A *South China Morning Post* review called it a touching sports comedy[9](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3144643/zero-hero-movie-review-hong-kong-paralympic-champion-so-wa), while a Cinema Escapist review characterized its approach as safe and motivational rather than challenging[23](https://www.cinemaescapist.com/2022/07/review-zero-hero-hong-kong-movie/). Common Sense Media rated it 3 out of 5, calling it a positive if at times sappy and melodramatic "comeback kid" biopic[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zero_to_hero).
At the 40th Hong Kong Film Awards, the film won Best Supporting Actor and received multiple other nominations[5](https://www.baike.com/wikiid/7179130971978170380). It also won an Excellent Film Golden Angel Award and a Best Actress award at the 2021 Chinese American Film Festival[5](https://www.baike.com/wikiid/7179130971978170380). After release, audiences began paying attention to the treatment of disabled athletes in Hong Kong[24](https://www.freeguider.com/hk/articles/Interview-with-su-huawei-once-accompanied-by-su-huawei-to-practice-running-and-train-fast--sus-mothe).
## Title
The Chinese title, *妈妈的神奇小子* ("Mom's Magic Kid"), refers to So's media nickname and to his mother. Common Sense Media observed that the English title *Zero to Hero* reads as implying that someone with disabilities was a "zero" before success, whereas the line "Eyes on your Mom," which So used at the starting line to stay focused, better matches the film's meaning[25](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/zero-to-hero).
## References
1. [Zero to Hero, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zero_to_hero)
2. [Trailer: 'Zero to Hero', Far East Films](https://fareastfilms.com/fef-news/trailer-on-your-mom-get-set-go/)
3. [媽媽的神奇小子, Hong Kong New Talents, HKIFF](https://hknt.hkiff.org.hk/zh/movie/zero-to-hero)
4. [香港娛樂 Daily News, 美南日報, 24 October 2021](https://scdnews.com/images/paper/211024/211024B.pdf)
5. [妈妈的神奇小子, 快懂百科](https://www.baike.com/wikiid/7179130971978170380)
6. [香港娛樂 Daily News, 美南日報, 9 November 2021](https://www.scdnews.com/images/paper/211109/211109B.pdf)
7. [跨越人生起跑線,《媽媽的神奇小子》放映會及映後談, HKU EOUnit](https://www.eounit.hku.hk/zh/news-and-events/events/513-conquering-the-starting-line-of-life-screening-and-discussion-of-zero-to-hero-2)
8. [Hong Kong Oscar submission 'Zero to Hero', Screen Daily](https://www.screendaily.com/screen-network/hong-kong-oscar-submission-hero-to-zero-its-a-story-about-a-mothers-greatness-/5165860.article)
9. [Zero to Hero movie review, South China Morning Post](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3144643/zero-hero-movie-review-hong-kong-paralympic-champion-so-wa)
10. [媽媽的神奇小子, WMOOV](https://m.wmoov.com/movie/details/44595)
11. [妈妈的神奇小子, 百度百科](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%A6%88%E5%A6%88%E7%9A%84%E7%A5%9E%E5%A5%87%E5%B0%8F%E5%AD%90/23370218?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma)
12. [蘇樺偉與蘇媽專訪, 立場新聞聞庫](https://collection.news/thestandnews/articles/156186)
13. [蘇樺偉 如何成為「神奇小子」, eduplus.hk](https://eduplus.hk/decoding-studies/dr-eva/20210921/)
14. [「神奇小子」蘇樺偉以自身經歷分享保護兒童心得, Hong Kong Police OffBeat 1222](https://www.police.gov.hk/offbeat/1222/chi/index.html)
15. [蘇樺偉專訪, 新家園協會會訊](https://www.nshk.org.hk/pdf/c_awards/2009/117.pdf)
16. [蘇樺偉——克服障礙, Education Bureau moral stories](https://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/tc/curriculum-development/kla/pshe/references-and-resources/ethics-and-religious-studies/moral-stories/16.pdf)
17. [學人沙龍：我們的神奇小子：蘇樺偉, RTHK](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fms7ojcfJ1U)
18. [神奇小子的媽媽 蘇媽專訪, Oh!爸媽](https://www.ohpama.com/795333/%E5%B0%88%E9%A1%8C/%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E5%B0%88%E8%A8%AA/%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E5%B0%88%E8%A8%AA-%E7%A5%9E%E5%A5%87%E5%B0%8F%E5%AD%90-%E8%98%87%E5%AA%BD-%E8%98%87%E6%A8%BA%E5%81%89/)
19. [卓言絮語：讚頌堅持 只因其美善, HKCT](https://www.hkct.edu.hk/tc/abouthkct/media-centre/press-release/column-20210812)
20. [蘇樺偉先生，BBS，MH, EdUHK biographies](https://www.eduhk.hk/cms/f/press_invitation/24677/35865/Biographies%20of%20Honorary%20Doctors%20Honorary%20Fellows_tc.pdf)
21. [《媽媽的神奇小子》終極預告, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo5yR2w8Z04)
22. [媽媽的神奇小子｜導演籲關注殘障運動員, HK01](https://www.hk01.com/%E7%A4%BE%E6%9C%83%E6%96%B0%E8%81%9E/666921/%E5%AA%BD%E5%AA%BD%E7%9A%84%E7%A5%9E%E5%A5%87%E5%B0%8F%E5%AD%90-%E5%B0%8E%E6%BC%94%E7%B1%B2%E9%97%9C%E6%B3%A8%E6%AE%98%E9%9A%9C%E9%81%8B%E5%8B%95%E5%93%A1-%E5%95%B2%E4%BA%BA%E7%9C%9F%E4%BF%82%E5%94%94%E8%A8%98%E5%BE%97%E8%98%87%E6%A8%BA%E5%81%89)
23. [Review: Hong Kong Sports Biopic "Zero to Hero", Cinema Escapist](https://www.cinemaescapist.com/2022/07/review-zero-hero-hong-kong-movie/)
24. [專訪蘇樺偉, Free Guider](https://www.freeguider.com/hk/articles/Interview-with-su-huawei-once-accompanied-by-su-huawei-to-practice-running-and-train-fast--sus-mothe)
25. [Zero to Hero Parents' Guide, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/zero-to-hero)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Documentary and biographical films › Individual biographical and docudrama films › Sports figures*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license