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This year’s Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal pays special tribute to Hong Kong’s film industry by celebrating “100 Years of Hong Kong Films”. Hong Kong martial arts epic, “Yip Man”, was one of the two films screened at the festival’s opening tonight (July 9, Montreal time).
The 2009 festival, which is in its 13th year, is being held from July 9 to 27. The opening screening of “Yip Man” was attended by a capacity crowd of 700 people.
The highlight of the “100 Years of Hong Kong Films” celebration will be a reception jointly hosted by the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office (HKETO), the official representative of the Hong Kong SAR Government in Canada and the Fantasia International Film Festival on July 16 for guests from Montreal’s film industry and cultural and business community.
The reception will be followed by the screening of Peter Chan’s film “The Warlords”, starring Andy Lau, Jet Li and Takeshi Kaneshiro, at 7pm at Concordia University’s Hall Theatre. A selection of vintage trailers, including some Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest trailers unavailable on DVD, will be screened before all of the Hong Kong features.
“The Warlords”, a war epic set in the 1860s, is about three sworn brothers and their rise through the ranks of the Qing army. It won best picture at the 2008 Hong Kong Film Awards, and this will be the film's Canadian premiere. The other Hong Kong films that will take centre stage at this year’s festival include “Tactical Unit – Comrades in Arms”, “Coweb”, and “Legendary Assassin”.
The Director of the HKETO in Canada, Ms Maureen Siu, said she was excited about Hong Kong’s participation in the Fantasia International Film Festival. “Hong Kong is a hub for the Chinese film industry and the breeding ground for some of the world’s best-known producers, directors and actors,” said Ms Siu. “It also offers a wide range of film production and post-production services and facilities.
“Hong Kong also has a unique advantage in bridging the Chinese Mainland with Western audiences and opening a window on the world for Chinese audiences,” she said. “The Mainland-Hong Kong co-productions have enjoyed tremendous box office success.‘The Warlords’, which will be featured at the Fantasia Film Festival this year, is one of the top 10 Chinese-language films co-produced by Hong Kong and Mainland China.”
For a complete list of festival programming and film screenings, please visit www.fantasiafest.com/pre2009/
Ends/Friday, July 10, 2009
Issued at HKT 11:01
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