Sylvia Chang (2nd left), Louis Koo (4th left), Roger Garcia (right)
This year’s Hong Kong International Film Festival opens with veteran actress, producer and director Sylvia Chang’s “Murmur of the Hearts” starring Macau-
born Isabella Leong, lead actress of Berlinale prizewinner Isabella, filmed in Macau. Chang is also this festival’s filmmaker in focus. Internationally acclaimed directors from Portugal, England and Iran will also be in Hong Kong for screenings of their most recent movies and conduct master classes for the public.
Taiwan-born Hong Kong legend Chang told MDT that her latest work is a deeply felt personal movie about parenting. “It’s the kind of film that when you leave the theatre you will want to call your parents. It’s about the precious things in life, kids and parents. What inspired me is what’s in your heart, where the heart is.”
Speaking to the Times, the festival’s long-time director, Roger Garcia, of Macanese extraction, called Chang a ”versatile and talented film person, actress, director, producer; very good writer of plays and screenplays [who] also produces – she produced Edward Yang’s – Taiwan’s greatest filmmaker’s – first film. She’s not only a talented person behind and in front of the camera but also helps encourage the film industry and culture. She was Vice-Chairwoman of the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society (which oversees HKIFF and the Asian Film Awards) and now [is] chairwoman of Taiwan’s Golden Horse awards.
The three internationally recognized directors appearing as special guests of the festival are Portugal’s 2014 Locarno winner, critically acclaimed auteur Pedro Costa (“Horse Money”), England’s multi-
award winning Peter Greenaway (“Eisenstein in Guanajuato”), and Iran’s Mohsen Makhmalbaf (“The President”).
This year’s HKIFF ambassador is Hong Kong superstar actor Louis Koo, who told MDT why he became involved with the film fest and how he sees the future for Hong Kong filmmakers. “I love movies; I have done many movies. I want to do something to help the people make more movies. And I want to do more to make local culture movies. I want to help bring young people together to watch movies and be inspired to make movies. I want us not to [only] make big movies [for international audiences] but low budget films for [the] local market to help local culture grow. With young people [on board] maybe something will happen. The technology is becoming much cheaper – everyone can make movies now”, he said, adding that Hong Kongers need to be creative to get there. “We need new ideas.”
As usual the festival shows a special selection of cinema from two countries in particular. This year’s turn is modern German film and Young Israeli movies. From Germany alone there will be thirteen international and Asian film premieres.
The festival, now in its 39th year, will show 280 movies from over 50 countries. It is the city’s largest cultural event with total audience figures of 600,000. Robert Carroll, Hong Kong
hkiff director’s picks
Documentaries
– (“Alien” look creator) “Dark Star – HR Giger’s World” is as informative as it is fascinating in its portrait of one of the great artists of our time.
– The landscapes and peoples in “The Salt of the Earth” also seem otherworldly – the film is a portrait of Sebastiao Salgado the great Brazilian photographer made by master filmmaker Wim Wenders, a celebration of the nomadic artist and the grand vision of the world as an endless horizon.
– All three “Portraits of Museums” section. Films about art used to be dry and academic but these three films are insightful and great observational documentaries
Features
– “Li’l Quinquin” by Bruno Dumont – a TV series cut into a long movie, completely off the wall with a deadpan satirical approach shot under the sign of David Lynch. Think of “Twin Peaks” crossed with Fargo and you get some of the flavor.
– Retrospective of Roy Andersson, the Swedish surrealist – won at Cannes (“Songs from the Second Floor” in 2000) and the Golden Lion in Venice 2014 with intersecting tales (“A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence”). He’s described as a satirical Bergman, or a Swedish Fellini.
– Sylvia Chang, a major multi-hyphenate talent as writer, director, producer and now Chairperson of the Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan. We are showing a great selection of her films (and opening the festival with her latest Murmurs of the Heart). I am particularly fond of “That Day,” on the Beach from 1983, which she produced and starred in. It was the first feature film by one of Taiwan’s masters of cinema, Edward Yang who was a personal friend (I met him in Hong Kong when he was traveling from the US to Taiwan to start his career in cinema). Shot by Chris Doyle, the film takes the form of various flashbacks and already shows Yang’s innovative approach to narrative construction. A film to see, and see again.
– Berlinale winners “Taxi” by Jafar Panahi (Golden Bear) and “Victoria” by Sebastian Schipper (Silver Bear for Outstanding Achievement). RC
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