Hong Kong 1995

Abstract

SINCE 1985 THE HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (HKIFF) has been the guardian of Asian cinema. Apart from screening an eclectic range of Asian and international films, it regularly runs comprehensive retrospectives which highlight both prominent and little-known Asian directors in events such as the thematic "Hong Kong Cinema Retrospective." In celebrating the Centenary of Cinema this year, the 19th HKIFF focused its attention on archival motion pictures collectively titled "Early Images of Hong Kong and China." An exhibition of the same theme was held concurrently at the City Hall. Among the most striking of the nearly 126 films from 44 countries exhibited in the Colony's bustling art cinemas were engaging movies that featured peculiar familial clans, haunted loners and bizarre relationships. The intensive 16-day affair (7th to 22nd April) opened with Jiang Wen's rites-of-passage film, In the Heat of the Sun. In his introductory speech, the acclaimed Mainland Chinese...