Hong Kong International Film Festival to open in March

The press conference of the 39th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) was held on Feb 26 at Mong Kok, Hong Kong. Chairman of Hong Kong International Film Festival Society (HKIFFS), Wilfred Wong, made a highly-anticipated announcement of festival programs. He said that with over 260 films from 56 countries and regions, the lineup is as eclectic as ever, boasting 78 international and Asian premieres.

The festival will last 15 days, from March 23 to April 6. “The HKIFF has dedicated itself to offering audiences many choices beyond mainstream productions and engaging the public in film culture through meet-the-filmmaker sessions and seminars,” said Wong.

Building on past massive success, the festival is collaborating with Youku again to produce Beautiful 2015, which is composed of four shorts, Tenant directed by Iran’s Mohsen Makhmalbaf, No Sleep by Taiwan’s Tsai Ming-Liang, Insomniac Diary by Mainland China’s Huang Jian-Xin and Three Days after My Death by Hong Kong’s Yim Ho. The HKIFF will present the world premiere of this omnibus production.

Sylvia Chang, the internationally recognized director, producer and actress, is the “Filmmaker in Focus” of this year’s HKIFF. In celebrating her achievements, the Hong Kong International Film Festival will screen 14 of Chang’s films. Chang will also attend the “Face to Face” seminar.

The reputable Iranian director, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, will meet his fans in Hong Kong and act as jury president for the HKIFF Young Cinema Competition. His most recent film, The President, will be screened. Eisenstein in Guanajuato by the multiple-award-winning UK director Peter Greenaway and Horse Money by the genius Portuguese director Pedro Costa will also be screened. These three directors will attend the screenings of their films and hold master classes.

The annual Young Cinema Competition is set up to encourage young filmmakers to showcase their works internationally and to explore the potential of the cinema of our times. This year’s panel of judges is led by the award-winning filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf and comprises Hong Kong actress Sandra Ng, American film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum, and founder of the Academy of Creative Media at University of Hawaii Chris Lee. The Awards Gala night will be capped by the Hong Kong premiere of The Taking of Tiger Mountain 3D by Hong Kong director Tsui Hark.

Several other Hong Kong films will receive world premieres at the 39th HKIFF, including Two Thumbs Up directed by Lau Ho-Leung with Francis Ng, Simon Yam and Leo Ku as well as My City directed by Fruit Chan.

The 39th HKIFF has also set its eyes on Germany. Thirteen German films will receive their international and Asian premieres, including Victoria by Sebastian Schipper, silver bear winner for Outstanding Artistic Contribution at Berlinale 2015. The program will also present Tough Love, The Chambermaid Lynn, Labyrinth of Lies and others.

2015 marks the 110th birthday anniversary of late great Japanese filmmaker Mikio Naruse and the 60th anniversary of his representative work, Floating Clouds. The festival will celebrate his life and work with four of his masterpieces.