"Chinese Film Panorama 2019" will be held from September 3 to October 13, and will present 18 movies recently produced by the Mainland. Jointly presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and the South China Film Industry Workers Union, the films will be shown at venues including the Grand Theatre of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, the Cinema of the Hong Kong Film Archive, and the lecture halls of the Hong Kong Space Museum and the Hong Kong Science Museum.
Directed by Xierzhati Yahefu, the opening film "The Composer" (2019) tells the story of the composer of the "Yellow River Cantata", Xian Xinghai, played by Hu Jun. Xian befriends a local musician while he is trapped in Almaty due to the outbreak of war. Shot in Kazakhstan and Russia, the film exudes an exotic mood. It won Special Jury Award and Best Female Newcomer at the 22nd Shanghai International Film Festival China Movie Channel Media Award.
In "So Long, My Son" (2019), Wang Xiaoshuai, a Chinese sixth generation director, meticulously depicts the lives of the common people in the Mainland in the 1980s. The leading actors, Wang Jingchun and Yong Mei, give spectacular performances, playing roles from early adulthood to old age. The film won the Silver Bear for Best Actor and Best Actress at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival, as well as other awards. Work from another sixth generation director, Liu Jie's "Baby" (2018), centres on the issue of abandoned children on the Mainland, which pushes audiences to reflect on the value of life. The film won Best "Windows on the World" Feature Film at the 29th African, Asian and Latin American Film Festival. Directed by Ning Jingwu, another award-winning sixth generation director, "Yellow Rose" (2019) is a realistic depiction of the hardship faced by AIDS patients. The film won Best Actress at the 22nd Shanghai International Film Festival China Movie Channel Media Awards.
Set against the vast unemployment of the 1990s, the debut film of emerging director Dong Yue, "The Looming Storm" (2017) focuses on personal misfortune in a time of drastic change. The film won multiple awards including Best Directorial Debut at the 25th Beijing College Student Film Festival, the FIPRESCI Prize at the 55th Golden Horse Awards as well as Best Artistic Award and Best Actor at the 30th Tokyo International Film Festival. Scripted by Bai Xue, "The Crossing" (2019) is her directorial debut, which traces a young girl making her way as a parallel importer. This film won Best Newcomer and Grand Jury Prix at the 26th Beijing College Student Film Festival, among other awards. The first work of the post-80s director Tian "When Love Blossoms" (2018) tells of a play-within-a-film contemporary romance, which is adapted from the stage play of the same title by the acclaimed playwright Zou Jingzhi. The film won Best Directorial Debut at the 26th Beijing College Student Film Festival.
Regarded as a masterpiece of crime thrillers on the Mainland, Xin Yukun's "Wrath of Silence" (2017) follows a mute miner's search for his missing son, along the way uncovering a web of interests involving every level of society. The film won Jury Prize and Best Actor at the 2nd International Film Festival & Awards · Macao. Huo Meng's "Crossing The Border – Zhaoguan" (2019) highlights the meaning of life through a journey of a grandfather with his grandson. The performance of Yang Taiyi, who is an actual peasant, as the grandfather, touches the audience. The film won Best Feature, Best Director and Special Jury Award at the 22nd Shanghai International Film Festival China Movie Channel Media Awards, among other awards. "Song of Youth" (2019), starring leading crosstalk figure Yu Qian and directed by Zhang Luan, features a love-hate teacher-student relationship. Based on the novel “The Best Collected Stories of Jia Da Shan”, Zheng Dasheng's black-and-white film "Bangzi Melody" (2017) reveals the absurdity under the landownership reform late last century. The film won a number of awards, including Film of Merit and Best New Actress at the 26th Shanghai Film Critics Awards. In "Lost, Found" (2018), cinematographer-turned-director Lu Yue, through a female perspective, explores the problems faced by modern women in their careers and family life. The film won the Grand Jury Prix and Best Actress at the 26th Beijing College Student Film Festival, among other awards. Starring a celebrity cast led by Wu Jing, Zhang Ziyi, Zhang Yi, Jing Boran and Hu Ge, Daniel Lee's "The Climbers" (2019) is a cinematic adaptation of the true story of two expeditions to Mount Everest by China's mountain climbing teams.
Films themed on ethnic minorities will also be screened. Centred on a pilgrimage to Lasha, Sonthar Gyal's "Ala Changso" (2018) is filled with the mastery of nature images and humanist elements. The film won multiple awards, including the Jury Grand Prix and Best Screenplay at the 21st Shanghai International Film Festival Golden Goblet Awards. In "Fade Away Pastoral" (2018), Adilxah Xahrahman and Zhou Jun give a factual account of the legendary Kazakhstan nomadic herders. The movie also captures spectacular grassland scenery through four seasons. Zhao Ziyang's "Old Beast" (2017) features the conflicts between two generations of Mongolians stemming from different choices in life. The film won Best Leading Actor, Best Original Screenplay and the FIPRESCI Prize at the 54th Golden Horse Awards, among other honours.
Also featured are "Gutian Bugle" (2019) directed by Chen Li and "Fall in Love with This Land" (2019) directed by Luo Ying, which will be screened at the Rayson Huang Theatre of the University of Hong Kong, the Auditorium of North District Town Hall and the Sunbeam Theatre with free admission.
"The Composer" is in Russian and Putonghua; "The Crossing" is in Cantonese and Putonghua; "Bangzi Melody" is in Hebei Jingxing dialect; "Ala Changso" is in Tibetan; "Fade Away Pastoral" is in Uyghur, and the other films are in Putonghua. All films have Chinese and English subtitles.
Tickets priced at $60 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For credit card telephone bookings, please call 2111 5999. Tickets for free screenings will be distributed at the respective venues of the free screenings from August 26 onwards. Each person can receive up to two tickets per screening on a first-come, first-served basis while stocks last. For programme details, please call 2734 2900 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/fp/en_US/web/fpo/programmes/cfp2019/index.html.
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