The Hong Kong International Film Festival unveiled the official art work for its 44th edition (HKIFF44), to be held from March 24 to April 6, 2020.
Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF)
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Hong Kong International Film Festival Unveils 2020 Official Poster
Actor Aaron Kwok reprises his role as HKIFF44’s Festival Ambassador
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Pedro Almodóvar’s PAIN AND GLORY Kicks Off Lineup of Hong Kong’s Summer International Film Festival 2019
Antonio Banderas in Pain and Glory (Dolor y gloria) Pain and Glory, Pedro Almodóvar’s passionate and deeply personal gem that won Antonio Banderas the Best Actor award in Cannes will open this year’s Summer International Film Festival (SummerIFF) on August 13.
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A FIRST FAREWELL and YOU HAVE THE NIGHT are Big Winners of 43rd Hong Kong International Film Festival Awards
Winners of 43rd Hong Kong International Film Festival Awards Wang Lina’s A First Farewell and Ivan Salatić’s You Have the Night are the big winners at the Firebird Awards of the 43rd Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF43). A First Farewell won the first-ever Young Cinema Competition (Chinese Language) Firebird Award, and You Have the Night took home the prestigious award in the Young Cinema Competition (World).
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43rd Hong Kong International Film Festival to Open with BODIES AT REST and Close with BY THE GRACE OF GOD
Bodies at Rest directed by Renny Harlin The 43rd Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF43) will open on March 18 with the world premiere of Bodies at Rest, Renny Harlin’s Chinese language crime thriller starring Nick Cheung and Richie Jen.
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Hong Kong International Film Festival to Present Special Programs on Actress Li Lihua and Fifth Generation of Chinese Filmmakers
Li Lihua in Barber Takes a Wife (1947) The 43rd Hong Kong International Film Festival will pay tribute to the trailblazers of Chinese cinema – legendary actress LI Lihua and the Fifth Generation of Chinese directors, who revolutionize the cinematic tradition with acting diversity and filmmaking innovationsrespectively, putting Chinese cinema into international spotlight.
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Sammo Hung is 43rd Hong Kong International Film Festival’s Filmmaker in Focus
Sammo Hung, the 43rd Hong Kong International Film Festival’s Filmmaker in Focus, appeared to take the cover shoot, with the internationally renowned photographer Wing Shya, for the upcoming commemorative book. Legendary action master Sammo Hung, who worked his way from actor, stuntman, martial arts choreographer, to director and producer for over half a century, is the 43rd Hong Kong International Film Festival’s Filmmaker in Focus. The 43rd Hong Kong International Film Festival will be held from March 18 to April 1, 2019.
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2019 Hong Kong International Film Festival Unveils Official Poster “Colours in the Dark”
The Hong Kong International Film Festival unveiled the official poster for the 43rd edition with the theme “Colours in the Dark”, designed by internationally acclaimed photographer and visual artist Wing Shya. Shya teamed up with Hong Kong Film Award winner Aaron Kwok, this year’s Ambassador, to start the countdown towards the Festival, to be held from March 18 to April 1, 2019.
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Hong Kong’s Summer Intl Film Festival to Showcase Japanese Anime Master Mamoru Hosoda, Opens with MIRAI
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Mamoru Hosoda[/caption]
A special program featuring Mamoru Hosoda – the Japanese anime master of the new generation will be showcased at the Summer International Film Festival (SummerIFF) – the Summer edition of the Hong Kong International Film Festival.
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Mirai[/caption]
His latest feature, Mirai, the first Japanese animated work ever to receive a world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, will be the opening film of SummerIFF, which also features four of his acclaimed works. Hosoda will visit Hong Kong for a master class, leading fans into a world of boundless imagination and fascinating stories.
The special program, titled “The World of Mamoru Hosoda,” celebrates the unparalleled achievement of the renowned director as he blazes a new path for Japanese hand-drawn animation. Opening the SummerIFF, Mirai (2018) is his latest ambitious exploration of the circle of life via a single family. This magnificent tale, which centers on a 4-year-old boy taken by his sister from the future into a series of surprising adventures, epitomizes Hosoda’s spellbinding mix of time leap, futuristic fantasy and familial affection.
Hailed as the next Miyazaki Hayao, Hosoda attracted international attention with The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006), a romantic fantasy that transforms the coming-of-age story into an openhearted fable. Summer Wars (2009) continues to dazzle audiences and critics alike for its eccentric and whimsical imagination of both digital and real worlds. Produced under his own animation house, Studio Chizu, Wolf Children (2012) and The Boy and the Beast (2015) further establish his signature style – a strong sense of family ties, and the growth to greater maturity through perseverance. His ingenuity of combining realistic settings with futuristic stories has earned him global recognition and awards, placing him as one of the leading anime directors in Japan today. The presentation of these earlier acclaimed works from 14 August onwards will give Hong Kong audiences an opportunity to revisit Hosoda’s creative oeuvre as a prelude to his visit and the premiere of his new film.
Hosoda will meet the audience after the screening of Mirai on August 18, and will also attend a master class after the screening of The Boy and the Beast on August 19 to share his creative insights.
In addition, an exhibition under the same title will be held from August 14 to 27, featuring his character designs, sketches of structures as well as re-created sets from his celebrated works.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mp6IcekfEpo
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42nd Hong Kong International Film Festival Announces Lineup, Opens With Taiwanese Films “Omotenashi” and “Xiao Mei”
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Omotenashi[/caption]
The upcoming 42nd edition of the Hong Kong International Film Festival announced their lineup. The festival will run for 18 days from March 19th until April 5th, 2018. The opening night on March 19th will feature two gorgeous films from two promising Taiwanese directors – Omotenashi, directed by Jay Chern and Xiao Mei, directed by Maren Hwang. Closing film will be the World Premiere of What a Wonderful family! 3: My Wife, My Life, the latest work from the acclaimed comedy series by the Japanese master Yamada Yoji.
Omotenashi is a co-production of Japan and Taiwan with up-and-coming Taiwanese director Jay Chern, which offers a heartwarming portrayal of the younger generation learning to appreciate the cultural differences and traditional values through love and respect; whereas Maren Hwang’s Xiao Mei brilliantly juggles elements of film noir and suspense in exploring the riddle of identity and truth through the mystic tale of a vanished girl. Directors and casts of both opening films will join HKIFF42 Grand Opening on 19 March. Veteran director Yamada Yoji continues his success inWhat a Wonderful Family! 3: My Wife, My Life, the third installment of his amusing series that playfully exposes the changing values and behavior within contemporary Japanese society. The world premiere of this much anticipated film will bring a delightful conclusion to this year’s Festival.
The “Filmmaker in Focus” this year is Brigitte Lin Ching-Hsia, one of the most distinguished actresses in Chinese language cinema. To celebrate the 45th anniversary of her career since her screen debut, HKIFF42 will showcase 14 of her films including the new restoration of her first film Outside the Window. Lin will share her insights on film and life in the “Face to Face” seminar.
Werner Herzog, one of cinema’s most celebrated filmmakers, will attend HKIFF42 and conduct a Master Class. His first visit to the Festival will be honored by a retrospective of his films, giving local audiences a rare opportunity to watch his classics, including four of his greatest cinematic achievements and his latest documentary Into the Inferno, which reflect his frantic imagination and poetic stylization.
HKIFF will also present the Hong Kong premiere of HTC’s first virtual reality (VR) Chinese language film, The Deserted. This groundbreaking work is directed by Taiwanese master Tsai Ming-Liang, with the support of HTC VIVE, ZOTAC Computer, and the Hong Kong Baptist University’s Academy of Film. TSAI and Golden Horse Award winner Lee Kang-Sheng will lead the Hong Kong audience through an unparalleled eye-opening VR experience, and share their visions of this cinematic innovation in a Master Class.
In addition to the two masters, the Japanese documentarian Hara Kazuo, known for his highly original and controversial films, will bring his latest work Sennan Asbestos Disaster and meet the audience in a Master Class. Several world-renowned directors will also visit Hong Kong for screenings of their films. Acclaimed American independent filmmaker Sean Baker, with his celebrated new film The Florida Project, will share his filmmaking experience. Kagawa Kyoko, the legendary Japanese actress of the Mizoguchi Kenji masterpiece A Story from Chikamatsu, and Ozu Yasujiro’s classic Tokyo Story will share her collaborations with the giants of Japanese cinema following the screening of the newly restored classic. The late Filipino master, Ishmael Bernal, will be featured in the Restored Classics section, and his longtime screenwriter, Ricky Lee, will also meet the audience to share his insights.
Cinephiles can enjoy a number of internationally award-winning films firsthand at the HKIFF. These include In the Fade, winner of the Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globes and Cannes Best Actress Award for Diane Kruger’s powerhouse performance; Joaquin Phoenix took home the Cannes Best Actor Award with You Were Never Really Here, which won the Cannes Best Screenplay Award alongside The Killing of a Sacred Deer; as well as Cannes Jury Prize winner and Oscar-nominated Loveless. Award winners from the Venice Film Festival include Grand Jury Prize winner Foxtrot, Special Jury Prize winner Sweet Country, Best Director award winner Custody, Best Actress Award for Charlotte Rampling in Hannah, and Best Actor Award for Kamel El Basha in The Insult. The Berlinale award winners include Grand Jury Prize for Mug, Outstanding Artistic Contribution Award for Dovlatov, winners of FIPRESCI Jury Prizes for River’s Edge andAn Elephant Sitting Still, the latter also won Special Mention for Best First Feature Award.
Multifaceted Argentine and Danish films open up new frontiers in the international scene. HKIFF42 will celebrate the achievement of Lucrecia Martel, a major auteur and forceful leading light of New Argentine Cinema, by showcasing four of her acclaimed works, including Zama, her latest and multiple award-winning film. In the New Danish Cinema section, six outstanding films will be showcased, including Thelma, a chilling psychological thriller from director Joachim Trier, the topical Borg/McEnroe, and Winter Brothers, winner of four major awards at the Locarno International Film Festival.
The Awards Gala Night will feature the international premiere of Transit, directed by acclaimed German auteur Christian Petzold. The French Night will feature Custody, helmed by the Venice Best Director winner Xavier Legrand, who will come to Hong Kong to greet the audience. HKIFF will also present the Canadian film Ava, a feature debut about women’s fight for independence by Sadaf Foroyghi, who will meet the audience at the screenings.
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Polish independence, HKIFF42 will present a prelude program “70 years of Polish Animation: Live Animation x Music”. The program will feature celebrated Polish filmmaker-animator Mariusz Wilczyński with live hand-drawn animation while the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra will present fabulous music under the baton of Polish conductor Sebastian Periowski.
In response to what the festival describes as “overwhelming response” HKIFF has decided to continue with the “Audience Choice Award”, which was first launched last year.
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Tsai Ming-Liang’s VR Film THE DESERTED to Hong Kong Premiere at 2018 Hong Kong International Film Festival
The Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) will introduce the future of cinema to audiences – the Hong Kong premiere of Tsai Ming-Liang’s The Deserted, HTC’s first virtual reality (VR) Chinese language film. World-renowned Taiwanese master TSAI Ming-Liang and Golden Horse Award Best Leading Actor LEE Kang-Sheng will lead the Hong Kong audience through an unparalleled eye-opening VR experience, and share their thoughts and visions of this cinematic innovation in a Master Class.
Winner of the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival with Vive L’amour (1994), TSAI Ming-Liang has established himself as one of contemporary cinema’s most accomplished auteurs. In addition to bringing films into the art world, he has been constantly exploring multi-media and new technology in filmmaking. The Deserted, his debut VR work, is an attempt to break the established dichotomy of traditional cinema, and create an interactive film experience that blurs the lines between reality and creative expression.
The work is an elliptical tale of love, death and memory, starring LEE Kang-Sheng as a man recuperating from an illness in the mountains. Unable to communicate with his late mother or the female ghost next door, his only companion is a lone fish who swims with him in the bathtub. The Deserted offers a dreamlike 3D experience which immerses viewers in the construction of the scenes, and the characters’ personal journeys.
The 55-min piece is a milestone in Chinese language cinema and selected for the first-ever Virtual Reality competition at the Venice Film Festival. It received overwhelming response at the Golden Horse Festival, selling out all 13 sessions within seconds. The Deserted is supported by HTC VIVE, ZOTAC and the Academy of Film of Hong Kong Baptist University.
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Brigitte LIN Ching-Hsia Named “Filmmaker in Focus” of 2018 Hong Kong International Film Festival
Brigitte LIN Ching-Hsia has been named the “Filmmaker in Focus” of the 42nd Hong Kong International Film Festival, taking place March 19 to April 5, 2018. With a career spanning over two decades and performing in more than a hundred films, LIN is widely recognized as one of the most acclaimed and distinguished actresses in Chinese language cinema. In celebrating her achievements, the Festival will screen 14 of her films and publish a retrospective book. LIN will also attend the “Face to Face” seminar to be held on 31 March, 2018 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, sharing her insights on film, art and life.
Born in Sanchung near Taipei, LIN was spotted by a talent scout at the age of seventeen, and was cast by renowned Taiwanese director SUNG Tsun-Shou as the female lead in his film Outside the Window (1973). Captivating the audience with her astonishing beauty and charisma, she became an overnight sensation. With the trend of romance films emerging in the seventies, the young actress, with an innocent girl image, flourished into a new idol in Taiwanese cinema through her collaborations with novelist and producer CHIUNG Yao, featuring in many of her productions including Cloud of Romance (1977) and A Love Seed (1979). In the eighties she moved her career platform to Hong Kong, where she displayed her versatile acting skills in different film genres, such as Love Massacre (1981), All the Wrong Spies (1983) and Starry is the Night (1988).
Instead of confining her persona to just a beauty icon, she has consciously extended her screen presence, covering historical and contemporary roles, and male and female characters. She is one of the few actresses who has succeeded in both romantic and martial film genres. LIN’s pioneering androgyny has inspired many directors such as LI Han-hsiang, who cast her to play the male role of JIA Baoyu in The Dream of the Red Chamber (1977), and TSUI Hark, who turned her into a handsome, alluring man in Peking Opera Blues (1986). Fusing masculine charm and feminine elegance in Swordsman II (1992) took her career to new heights.
LIN’s remarkable performances have won accolades from the audience and the industry alike. She has received four nominations for Best Actress in the Hong Kong Film Awards, namelyZU: Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983), Police Story (1985), Swordsman II and Handsome Siblings (1992), and also two nominations at the Golden Horse Awards for Magnificent 72 (1980) and The Switch/Hero vs Hero (1982). She finally took home the Award for Best Actress at the 27th Golden Horse Awards for her role in Red Dust (1990).
Before leaving the industry, LIN capped her career with three iconic roles in the 1990s: a heartbroken femme fatale in Ronny YU’s The Bride with White Hair (1993); a brother-sister duo-in-one in Ashes of Time (1994); and a blonde killer in Chungking Express (1994), both films by WONG Kar Wai.
In addition to being a great actress, LIN has also pursued other artistic endeavors, such as acting in the theatrical production of The Peach Blossom Land (1992), and narrating the films Bishonen (1998) and Peony Pavilion (2001), both directed by Yonfan. She became a writer in 2011 and published two books, Inside and Outside the Window and Cloud Goes, Cloud Comes.
On the occasion of the 45th anniversary of her career debut in 2018, and the completion of the restored version of her first film Outside the Window, the Hong Kong International Film Festival will revisit and celebrate her dazzling and pioneering body of work.
