Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 25th Anniversary Exhibition 'A New Wave of Hong Kong Cinema'
Screening Nine Films Including 'Yeonji-gu', 'Autumn Day's Fairy Tale', and 'Pretty Heart'
The Korean Film Archive will hold a special exhibition titled "New Wave of Hong Kong Cinema" at Cinematheque KOFA from the 23rd of this month to the 2nd of next month, in collaboration with Create HK. To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the event will showcase four works by veteran Hong Kong directors and five works by emerging directors.
The former includes directors Guan Jinpeng's "Love in a Fallen City (1987)," Pang Yuk-ping's "Boat People (1983)," Cheung Wanzheng's "Autumn Tale (1987)," and Ann Hui's "The Way We Are (2003)." The latter features Man Lim-chung's "Ann Hui: Happy Movies (2021)," Terry Ng's "Pretty Heart (2022)," Hayward Mak's "Father's Malatang (2019)," Judy Chu's "Sunshine of My Life (2022)," and Aubrey Lam's "12 Days (2022)."
"New Wave of Hong Kong Cinema" is a film program touring worldwide. It started in Udine, Italy, last April and has been held in Bali, Indonesia; Bangkok, Thailand; Beijing, China; Copenhagen, Denmark; Sydney, Australia; and Singapore. Winston Au, representative of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, which sponsors the event, said, "We thank the Korean Film Archive for inviting Hong Kong films," and added, "We hope Korean audiences will enjoy Hong Kong films representing various eras." Kim Hong-jun, director of the Film Archive, stated, "We hope this will be an opportunity to rediscover the remarkable vitality and diversity of Hong Kong cinema."
"Boat People" tells the story of Aying, who works at a film center and attends classes for free instead of receiving a salary. Director Pang Yuk-ping demonstrates a style close to Italian neorealism, casting non-professional actors to realistically portray Hong Kong society at the time. "Autumn Tale" is a melodrama about Jennifer, who visits New York, gets hurt by her fianc?, and stays with distant relatives. The sweet love performances by Chow Yun-fat and Chung Cho-hong are considered highlights.
"Love in a Fallen City" is an adaptation of a novel of the same name by popular Chinese-language author Li Bihua. Leslie Cheung and Maggie Cheung portray the futility of love that vanishes like smoke. "The Way We Are" is Maggie Cheung's final work, calmly depicting the story of a couple experiencing a midlife crisis.
"Father's Malatang" depicts the process of three sisters getting to know each other, featuring a cameo by Andy Lau. "Ann Hui: Happy Movies" calmly highlights the life of director Ann Hui, who led the Hong Kong New Wave. Directed by Man Lim-chung, a production designer and art director, who previously worked with Ann Hui as the art director for "The Way We Are."
"12 Days" was inspired by Ingmar Bergman's "Scenes from a Marriage (1973)" and delicately explores romance, marriage, and relationships between men and women in twelve chapters. "Sunshine of My Life" is an autobiographical story by director Judy Chu, who grew up with visually impaired parents. "Pretty Heart" addresses issues of entrance exam education and educational philosophy experienced by Asian students through the romance of two teachers. Jennifer Yu, the lead actress, will visit the screening venue on the 24th to engage in a dialogue with the audience.
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