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Some 200 guests spent an enjoyable night reminiscing over a golden era of Cantonese movies in the 1950s and 1960s at the opening of a film retrospective held in the National Museum of Singapore this evening (October 10).
"The Story of Kong Ngee", a review of Cantonese movies starring leading Hong Kong actors and actresses and produced by the Kong Ngee Film Company founded by two Singaporean brothers, pays tribute to the film studio and its contribution to the Cantonese film industry.
The Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in Singapore, Mr Fong Ngai, said that the Office was pleased to partner with the National Museum of Singapore to present the selection of Cantonese movies from a past era to the Singaporean audience.
He said, "The historical ties between Hong Kong and Singapore date back years. The movie and TV industries have played no small part in contributing to the strong ties enjoyed by the two places.
"Filmmakers like Kong Ngee not only contributed to the film industry but also enhanced mutual understanding and shared the cultures of two places. You'd be amazed that our friends in Singapore, and other Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries, have grown up with Cantonese movies and TV programmes, as we were told."
"The Story of Kong Ngee", organised by the National Museum of Singapore and sponsored by the HKETO in Singapore, will feature 15 iconic Cantonese movies spanning a wide range of genres from detective mysteries to melodramas and romantic comedies. The opening movie is "Blood Stains the Valley of Love", which is part of the famed "Nanyang Trilogy" and the centrepiece of the film showcase. The other two movies in the trilogy are "China Wife" and "Moon Over Malaya", and all were shot in Malaya and Hong Kong in 1957.
Other movies to be featured in the retrospective are "The Rouge Tigress", "Dial 999 for Murder", "The Seventh Heaven", "The Quarrelsome Couple", "My Intimate Partners", "How to Get a Wife", "Spring Appears", "Ungratefulness", "The Dreadnaught", "Prince of Broadcasters", "Story of a Discharged Prisoner" and "Incredible Rumour".
All movies will be screened from October 11 to 20 at the Gallery Theatre of the National Museum of Singapore. The Leisure and Cultural Services Department of Hong Kong and its Hong Kong Film Archive have provided support to the event.
Ends/Thursday, October 10, 2013
Issued at HKT 20:15
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