Yang Qing (far left), “Chongqing Hotpot” director. Trivisa directors from right: Vicky Wong, Jevons Au, Frank Hui
The 40th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) kicks off with a bang with “Trivisa,” an innovative crime drama produced by Hong Kong’s legendary Johnnie To, and mainland director Yang Qing’s “Chongqing Hotpot,” which is the eagerly awaited follow-up to his hilariously subversive “One Night in Supermarket.” The film being honored to close out the festival goes to 2015 Cannes Best Director winner (“Journey to the Shore”) Kiyoshi Kurosawa for his new thriller, “Creepy.”
To, who is famous for his iconic, internationally influential gangster movies and who is a film festival favorite in the West, breaks new ground with “Trivisa“ by bringing in three up-and-coming Fresh Wave local directors: Jevons Au, Vicky Wong and Frank Hui. Each directed a 30-minute segment of the movie through the eyes of one of the three protagonist villains, who are loosely based on three real-life, high-profile gangsters who operated in 1997 at the time colonial rule was ending. The three come together for a mega-heist bringing they own very different agendas. “Trivisa” has its Asian premiere in Hong Kong after a well-received world premiere at the Berlinale.
Going on “One Night in Supermarket,“ and from what the “Chongqing Hotpot“ trailer hints at, the new movie appears to follow the pattern of Yang’s 2009 hit – slick, artful and rollicking. The plot hinges on a failing basement restaurant that is to be sold on the condition that it will be enlarged. The sellers hit the jackpot by finding themselves in a bank vault, but they’re not the only ones intending to rob the bank.
Kurosawa’s “Creepy“ is an adaptation of Maekawa Yutaka’s novel, in which a former detective finds himself increasingly entangled in a complex investigation into the disappearance of a young child. The master of fear’s latest work will be making its world premiere at the HKIFF.
“Death in Sarajevo”
As usual the film festival brings prize-winners fresh from this month’s Berlinale. This year, there will be seven films. Silver Bear winners “Death in Sarajevo,” “A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery,” “Crosscurrent,“ and “Batrachian’s Ballad,“ as well as jury winners “Tomcat,” “Barakah Meets Barakah,” and “Those Who Jump,“are all making their Asian premieres at the festival.
Bosnian Danis Tanovic (“No Man’s Land”) won the Grand Jury Prize with “Death in Sarajevo,” a droll take on modern Europe on the 100th anniversary of the assassination that sparked World War One. Filipino Lav Diaz’s “A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery” earned the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize for an epic eight hours of the Philippines’ history, interwoven with music and folklore. The Golden Bear for Best Short went to “Batrachian’s Ballad,” musings on family by Portugal’s Leonor Teles. Also from the 2016 Berlin festival, independent jury winners include Austrian Händl Klaus’ absorbing drama, “Tomcat,” which took the Teddy Award for Best Feature Film. There were two winners of the Forum Ecumenical Prize: the ground-breaking Saudi romantic comedy, “Barakah Meets Barakah,” by Mahmoud Sabbagh; and the oddball “Those Who Jump” by Malian Abou Bakar Sidebé, Chilean Estephan Wagner and German Moritz Siebert, which documents the would-be EU refugees outside the Spanish enclave of Melilla.
Among the international cinematic greats attending HKIFF 2016 is French superstar actor Sophie Marceau, who arrives with a new film, “Jailbirds.” Directors attending their screenings include Bela Tarr from Hungary (“The Turin Horse”), Taiwan’s Tsai Ming-liang (“Afternoon”), Japan’s Kiyoshi Kurosawa (“Creepy”) and Sono Sion (“Shin
“Trivisa”
Juku Swan,” “The Whispering Star,” “A Man’s Flower Road”). Also present will be French-Canadian Denis Côté (“Boris Without Beatrice”). Bela Tarr will also be giving a master class after the screening of “The Turin Horse.”
This year’s follow-up to the “Beautiful” omnibus series will see the world premiere of four shorts by China’s Jia Zhangke, Nakata Hideo from Japan, Alec Su from Taiwan and Hong Kong’s Stanley Kwan.
The couple of dozen categories of films include 240 titles from 66 countries, including 63 world, international and Asian premieres. The country in focus this year is South Korea, with all directors attending screenings. Director Park Ki-yong will host a seminar with HKIFF director Roger Garcia on “Training for a Global Industry.”
Wong Kar-wai’s films will also be given pride of place with “In the Mood for Films – 25th Anniversary of Jet Tone Films,” his production company. Fifteen of Wong’s films will be shown including two versions previously unseen here. In addition a seminar will be held.
HKIFF is the territory’s largest cultural event, attracting an audience of 600,000. The festival runs from March 21 to April 4. Details are available at their website: www.hkiff.org.hk . Robert Carroll, Hong Kong
hkiff director on macau film festival
Roger Garcia, the veteran executive director of the Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF), has congratulated Macau on its recently announced Macau International Film Festival, which is expected to take place in December of 2016. “We wish it all the best,” he said, adding that the new festival will be “more complementary than competitive to HKIFF, which is a festival of mainly international arthouse cinema driven largely by an appreciation of and interest in the works of filmmakers.” By comparison, he understands that MIFF “will be geared mainly towards popular cinema, such as big Chinese releases in the run up to Christmas and some genre works.” He added that “the IFF Macau is a good initiative that we hope will help develop film culture and creative industries in Macau.”
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