Film festival in Hong Kong
The 48th Hong Kong International Film Festival () took place from 28 March to 8 April 2024. Fruit Chan was selected as the Filmmaker in Focus for this edition and masterclasses led by Víctor Erice and Martin McDonagh were featured.
The festival opened with the Hong Kong LGBTQ-themed drama "All Shall Be Well" by Ray Yeung and closed with the Japanese drama "All The Long Nights" by Miyake Sho. This year, 190 films from 62 countries were screened, including five world premieres, six international premieres, and sixty-four Asian premieres. Karena Lam was chosen as the new ambassador of the HKIFF starting this edition, succeeding Aaron Kwok, who served for the past five years.
Background.
The theme of the 48th Hong Kong International Film Festival is "A Portal to Another World". The festival's poster features a Hong Kong street with neon signs as the backdrop, while a brightly colored film screen is placed in the center, reflecting the theme of reimagining Hong Kong through a time portal. Karena Lam was named the new ambassador of the Hong Kong International Film Festival in January 2024 starting from this edition, succeeding Aaron Kwok, who served for the past five years. Lam also served as one of the jurors for the Firebird Awards. She is the second woman to hold this position and the first female ambassador in over a decade (since Miriam Yeung in 2011), and she expressed a commitment to advocating for women's rights in the film industry, as well as promoting Hong Kong's cultural scene, which has faced challenges since the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of streaming services.
Fruit Chan was announced as the Filmmaker in Focus for the festival on 2 February 2024. Albert Lee, the executive director of the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society, explained that Chan was chosen for his creative and pioneering vision in Hong Kong genre filmmaking. British-Irish filmmaker Martin McDonagh and Spanish director Víctor Erice were also announced as features in the Masterclass section later that month, and both would be presenting at the festival in person. A full lineup and the titles of the competitive sections were revealed on 8 March. Other notable guests at the festival included Iranian actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Japanese musician Eiko Ishibashi, American cartoonist Bill Plympton, Indian documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan, Taiwanese filmmaker Tsai Ming-liang, Japanese filmmakers Kazuhiro Soda, Shusuke Kaneko, and Miyake Sho, as well as Japanese actors Masaki Okada and Kaya Kiyohara, and Taiwanese actor Greg Hsu. Ishibashi also gave a live performance on 30 March.
The film festival opened on 28 March 2024 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre with the Hong Kong LGBTQ-themed drama "All Shall Be Well", directed by Ray Yeung. Events took place at various venues, including the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong City Hall, M+, iSQUARE, Times Square, and Elements. A total of 190 films from 62 countries were screened, featuring five world premieres, six international premieres, and sixty-four Asian premieres. Ticket prices ranged from $55 HKD for weekday matinee screenings to $5,000 HKD for a VIP pass to the festival. The film festival was part of the Entertainment Expo Hong Kong, which celebrated its 20th anniversary, featuring events such as the 17th Asian Film Awards and the 42nd Hong Kong Film Awards taking place concurrently. A new section, the CAA China Genre Initiative Projects, was added to the Asia Financing Forum, Hong Kong International Film Festival's project market.
The Malaysian-Singaporean-Taiwanese historical drama "Snow in Midsummer" by Chong Keat Aun won the Firebird Award for the Young Cinema Competition (Chinese-language), while the Danish-Swedish psychological thriller "Sons" by Gustav Möller won the Firebird Award for the Young Cinema Competition (World). The Austrian documentary "Favoriten" by Ruth Beckermann received the Firebird Award for Documentary Competition. The Taiwanese film "A Journey in Spring" by Wang Ping-wen and Peng Tsz-hui won the FIPRESCI Prize. The festival closed with the Japanese drama "All The Long Nights" by Miyake Sho on 8 April.
Jury.
The jury of the Firebird Awards comprises:
Program sections.
Opening and closing films.
The following films were selected as the opening and closing features of the film festival, marking the Asian premiere of both:
Gala Presentation.
The following films have been selected for screening in the Gala Presentation section, marking the world premiere of Ho Miu Ki's "Love Lies" and the Asian premiere of Ryusuke Hamaguchi's "Gift":
Cinephile Paradise.
The following films have been selected for screening in the Cinephile Paradise section:
Firebird Awards.
Young Cinema Competition (Chinese-language).
The following films were selected to compete in the Young Cinema Competition (Chinese-language) at the Firebird Awards. "Snow in Midsummer" emerged as the winner, with Liang Ming named Best Director for "Carefree Days", Lyu Xingchen named Best Actress for her performance in "Carefree Days", and Jason King named Best Actor for his role in "A Journey in Spring".
Young Cinema Competition (World).
The following films were selected to compete in the Young Cinema Competition (World) at the Firebird Awards. "Sons" emerged as the winner, with Meryam Joobeur named Best Director for "Who Do I Belong To", Minna Wündrich named Best Actress for her performance in "Ivo", and Vangelis Mourikis named Best Actor for his role in "Arcadia". A special mention was given to Nelson Carlo de los Santos Arias' "Pepe".
Documentary Competition.
The following films were selected to compete in the Young Cinema Competition (Documentary) at the Firebird Awards. "Favoriten" was unanimously chosen as the winner by the jury, while Wong Siu-pong received the jury prize for his work "Obedience".
Pan-Chinese Cinema.
Filmmaker in Focus.
Fruit Chan was announced to be the Filmmaker in Focus for the film festival on 2 February 2024, featuring ten of his previous works. "The Longest Summer" was removed from the list on 8 March, with the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society stating that it was unable to locate suitable copies for screening, and Chan's 2019 film "The Abortionist" was presented in its place. However, "Ming Pao" noted that the Society had previously screened "The Longest Summer" in 2017 and 2021, while filmmaker Tin Kai-man also expressed confusion over the decision, explaining that copies of all Hong Kong films should be well-preserved in the Hong Kong Film Archive. Chan described the decision as "pitiful", but noted that those interested in watching would find a way to do so on their own.
Chinese-language Restored Classics.
Six restored contemporary classics by Chinese filmmakers were showcased at the film festival:
Masters and Auteurs.
The Masters.
The following films were selected for screening in the Masterclass section:
Víctor Erice: The Returning Gaze.
Spanish director Víctor Erice was selected as the featured honoree for the festival's Masterclass tribute program, showcasing all four of his feature films throughout his filmmaking career:
Martin McDonagh: Theatre of Dark Tales.
British-Irish filmmaker Martin McDonagh was announced to lead a masterclass and career retrospective in the Masterclass section on 29 February 2024, featuring all five of his feature films:
Les Auteurs.
The following films have been selected for screening in the Les Auteurs section:
Global Vision.
The following films have been selected for screening in the Global Vision section:
Fantastic Beats.
The following films have been selected for screening in the Fantastic Beats section:
Restored Classics.
Eight restored film classics from various eras and regions were selected for showcase at the festival:
Focus.
Three feature films and a short film directed by French filmmaker Jean Eustache were selected for screening in the Focus section:
References.
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