"Septet" to open Hong Kong International Film Festival
11 Mar – The omnibus film, "Septet: The Story of Hong Kong" is one of the two movies that has been selected to open the 45th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF).
The movie, which features works of seven acclaimed directors including Sammo Hung, Johnnie To, Tsui Hark and the late Ringo Lam, has already attracted the attention of film festivals around the world, after being selected to be the opening film at festivals in Cannes and Busan.
The film contains seven separate self-contained highly personal stories from these filmmakers born in the 40s and 50s to reflect a Hong Kong that they had known, from the likes of Sammo's story about his childhood training in martial arts, the late Ringo Lam's poignant tribute to his hometown, Ann Hui's quietly moving ode to the educators, and Johnnie To's dark comedy about three friends' bonanza, as well as Patrick Tam's story of two lovers separated by one moving to England. Each one of the short films covers a different period in the city's recent history.
Aside from "Septet", another film to open the festival will be Philip Yung's new film, "Where the Wind Blows" starring Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Aaron Kwok.
On the other hand, director Stanley Kwan has been selected as HKIFF's Filmmaker in Focus, where 13 of his films will be part of a retrospective, while the filmmaker himself will participate in a seminar to discuss his career, craft and life in the public eye.
The upcoming festival will be held from 1 to 12 April as a hybrid event that includes both online and in-person activities.
(Photo Source: HKIFF)
