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HKETO, Brussels presents martial arts retrospective at 17th Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy (English only) (with photos)
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     After Sofia, Amsterdam and Brussels, the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Brussels (HKETO, Brussels), is bringing its martial arts retrospective to the 17th Far East Film Festival (www.fareastfilm.com) in Udine, Italy from April 23 to May 2, 2015 as part of the ETO's 50th anniversary celebration programme.

     The HKETO, Brussels hosted a Hong Kong Film Night on April 26, which featured the Italian premiere of "Kung Fu Jungle", starring Donnie Yen, in the presence of the film's director, Teddy Chen.

     Speaking at the reception, the Deputy Representative of the HKETO, Brussels, Miss Alice Choi, said that kung fu represents an important part of Hong Kong culture.

     "In the Chinese literal meaning, kung means efforts and achievements, while fu refers to a decent man. Kung fu is more than just fighting; it also involves a lot of wisdom and self-cultivation. This resonates with the Hong Kong spirit - strive for perfection, never give up, and at the same time, be flexible."

     This Hong Kong spirit is conducive to the making of excellent movies, said Miss Choi. Added to this, Hong Kong safeguards and respects freedom of expression and artistic creation. Freedom of speech and other basic rights are enshrined in our constitutional document, the Basic Law.

     "Hong Kong movies now embrace many different styles, as you can see from the films programmed in this festival, but martial arts is still a favourite and we hope they can be introduced to a new generation of audiences," Miss Choi said.

     The martial arts programme, curated by the HKETO, Brussels' partner, the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society, 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".

     Jackie Chan is the special guest of the Udine Far East Film Festival, at which he presented the international cut world premiere of Daniel Lee's "Dragon Blade" as the festival's opening movie. Chan plays a leading role in the film, alongside Adrien Brody and John Cusack.

     A host of other Hong Kong film industry personalities will present their latest works at the festival, including the CEO of Emperor Motion Pictures, Mr Albert Lee; director of "Sara", Herman Yau; scriptwriter of "Sara", Erica Li; director of "Port of Call", Philip Yung, whose film will have its international premiere at the festival; director of "Gangster Payday", Lee Po-cheung; and producer of Tsui Hark's "The Taking of Tiger Mountain", Nansun Shi. Sunny Luk and Longman Leung's spy thriller, "Helios", will also have its international premiere in Udine.

     Three Fresh Wave Short Film directors will be attending the festival, namely Anastasia Tsang, director of "Marryland"; Cai Jia-hao, director of "Neighbours"; and Louis Wong, director of "iPhone Thieves", accompanied by the Official Programme Officer Kasumi Wong.

     Also at Udine, the Jumping Frames International Dance Video Festival will present one Mainland and three Hong Kong works, namely "Lucy", directed and choreographed by Er Gao; "Let's Say", directed by Jim Fok and choreographed by Li De; "Elegy", directed by Rita Hui and choreographed by Chan Kwun-yi, Vinci Mok and Cally Yu; and the world premiere of "Body Watch", directed by Frankie Ho and Ziv Chun and choreographed by Frankie Ho. First presented by City Contemporary Dance Company in 2004, the Jumping Frames International Dance Video Festival is the only festival of its kind in Asia and has served to promote dance video and the art form's unlimited possibilities.

     After Udine, the HKETO, Brussels' special Hong Kong Martial Arts Film programme will next go to Florence, to be followed later by Istanbul and Izmir in Turkey.

Ends/Monday, April 27, 2015
Issued at HKT 17:59

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