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The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Brussels (HKETO, Brussels) promoted classic and recent Hong Kong films to audiences in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Brussels, Belgium as part of its celebration programme for the 50th anniversary of its establishment.
A total of seven Hong Kong films were shown at the prestigious EYE Film Institute of the Netherlands in Amsterdam, where the Hong Kong martial arts film retrospective was held from April 6 to 15 (Netherlands time). This is the 11th year that the HKETO, Brussels has brought Hong Kong films to Amsterdam.
Fourteen Hong Kong films were shown at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF), taking place at the Belgian capital's Centre for Fine Arts from April 7 to 19 (Brussels time). It is the HKETO, Brussels' third collaboration with BIFFF, an annual festival of fantasy, fantastic, thriller and science-fiction films which attracts 60 000 visitors a year.
The martial arts film programme includes such classics as Bruce Lee's "The Way of the Dragon", Sammo Hung's "Spooky Encounters", Ching Siu-tung's "Duel to the Death", Jackie Chan's "The Young Master", Corey Yuen's "Righting Wrongs" and Tsui Hark's "Once Upon a Time in China 2". To this, the EYE added Tsui Hark's recent film "The Taking of Tiger Mountain 3D", while BIFFF added "Iron Monkey", "Kung Fu Hustle", "Seven Swords" and "The Grandmaster".
Four recent Hong Kong productions are also shown as part of the official programme at BIFFF. Three are in competition, namely Fruit Chan's "The Midnight After" (International Competition), Tsui Hark's "The Taking of Tiger Mountain 3D" (Thriller Competition) and Dante Lam's "That Demon Within" (Thriller Competition), while Joe Chien's "Zombie Fight Club" thrilled fans of the genre at a midnight screening.
The HKETO, Brussels, will present a special commemorative award to one of the films at BIFFF, to be selected by the international jury.
The HKETO, Brussels also hosted a reception on the occasion of the Hong Kong Film Night at BIFFF on April 16, which included a screening of Stephen Chow's iconic comedy "Kung Fu Hustle" and Fruit Chan's thriller "The Midnight After".
The Deputy Representative of the HKETO, Brussels, Miss Alice Choi, said that with an environment that encourages creativity and diversity as upheld by the Basic Law, Hong Kong movies now embrace many different genres, from psychological dramas and thrillers to comedy and art-house films.
"Last year, 51 Hong Kong films were released in our city. Of course, among all the movies we make, the most famous and some of the best-loved around the world are still our kung-fu movies. This is why we are bringing some of the classics of the genre to Brussels."
Hong Kong film director, Mr Jacob Cheung, was invited to BIFFF on April 10 to present his film "The White-Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom".
The special Hong Kong Martial Arts Film programme will next go to Italy, where it will feature at the Udine Far East Film Festival, followed by Florence and later Istanbul and Izmir in Turkey.
Ends/Friday, April 17, 2015
Issued at HKT 22:31
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