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Legendary Hong Kong new wave director Patrick Tam today (November 15, Toronto time) attended the Opening Gala Presentation and North American premiere of his much anticipated film - "After this Our Exile" - at the 2006 Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival.
At the gala sponsored by the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office (HKETO) in Canada, Mr Tam shared with guests his thoughts on his award-winning film, starring Aaron Kwok, Charlie Yeung and Kelly Lin.
The film, recently nominated for seven Golden Horse Awards, including "Best Feature Film" and "Best Leading Actor", received an overwhelming response at its World Premiere at the recent Rome Film Festival as well as the Pusan International Film Festival. It was also given the "Best Asian Film Award" and "Award for Best Artistic Contribution" at the 19th Tokyo International Film Festival about a week ago.
As the sponsor of the opening film, the Deputy Director of the HKETO, Mr Francis Ho, said Hong Kong films were "the ambassador of the city". "They showcase the uniqueness of Hong Kong as a melting pot between Eastern and Western cultures," he said.
"Hong Kong films demonstrate the creativity of our people and our continuous striving for excellence. They reflect the issues of concern to our society and document our development. The many co-productions that we have with the Chinese Mainland and overseas production houses illustrate our strengths as Asia's world city," he added.
Other dignitaries attending the film screening included Toronto Mayor David Miller, and Cultural Consuls of the Chinese Consulate General in Toronto, Madam Xiu Zhen Wang and Mr Shuang Chen.
Prior to the opening gala presentation, the HKETO hosted a pre-screening VIP reception to share with the guests Tam's "astonishing 160 minutes", and to celebrate the achievement of the cast of the film, including acting talents Aaron Kwok, Charlie Yeung and Kelly Lin.
As part of the publicity activities, a film seminar, entitled "In the Director's Chair: A Conversation with Patrick Tam", will be held tomorrow (November 16, Toronto time) evening at the Vivian and David Campbell Conference Facility of the University of Toronto. It will be conducted by Patrick Tam and Professor Bart Testa of the Innis Cinema Studies Program at the University of Toronto. The presentation is open to the public.
For details on the Reel Asian programming, please visit www.reelasian.com.
Ends/Thursday, November 16, 2006
Issued at HKT 12:18
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