Paris film archive celebrates 20 years of Hong Kong cinema with Ann Hui as special guest (with photos)
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     The Cinémathèque Française in Paris, France, is celebrating 20 years of Hong Kong cinema by screening 20 films over the next three weeks with Ann Hui as the special guest. "Creative Visions: Hong Kong Cinema 1997-2017", part of the events to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), is running from September 20 to October 11.

     The specially curated programme is presented by Create Hong Kong, in partnership with the Cinémathèque Française, with the support of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Brussels (HKETO, Brussels) and the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society as the project manager. The Cinémathèque Française holds one of the largest archives of film documents in the world and offers daily film screenings.

     Speaking at the opening reception on September 20 (Paris time), the Deputy Representative of HKETO, Brussels, Mr Sam Hui, said that 2017 is an important year for Hong Kong as it celebrates the 20th anniversary.

     "Hong Kong is a place of open borders and open minds, with a mix of Chinese and Western influences. One of the priorities of the Hong Kong Government is to sustain this open environment to allow talent and creativity to flourish", he said. "These movies demonstrate the richness of the unique history and various cultural dimensions of Hong Kong."

     Ann Hui, the festival's special guest, introduced the French premiere of her latest period film, "Our Time Will Come" (2017), and replied to questions about the movie after the screening. The programme will also show another of Hui's films, "The Way We Are" (2008).

     The programming director of the Cinémathèque Française, Mr Jean-François Rauger, remarked that Hong Kong cinema has been a major discovery for French film lovers during the past three decades.

     "The retrospective 'Creative Visions' will allow the audience of the Cinémathèque Française to discover how vivid and rich the movie production in Hong Kong has been over the last 20 years," Mr Rauger said.

     The programme is presenting a wide range of films produced by Hong Kong and includes works by internationally renowned Hong Kong directors like Ann Hui, Johnnie To and Wong Kar-wai as well as filmmakers like Pang Ho-cheung and Philip Yung who emerged in the past two decades. Aside from screening "Our Time Will Come" and "The Way We Are", the programme features "Beast Cops" (1998), "Bullets Over Summer" (1999), "Full Alert" (1997), "Gallants" (2010), "The Grandmaster" (2013), "High Noon" (2008), "Hold You Tight" (1998), "Infernal Affairs" (2002), "Kung Fu Hustle" (2004), "Love Battlefield" (2004), "Love in a Puff" (2010), "Made in Hong Kong" (1997), "Port of Call" (2015), "Protégé" (2007), "PTU" (2003), "Time and Tide" (2000), "Trivisa" (2016) and "The Warlords" (2007).

     Paris is one of 10 cities that were selected to take part in the celebration of 20 years of Hong Kong movies following the programme's inaugural screenings in Hong Kong. The other cities are Udine, Vancouver, Toronto, Berlin, Seoul, Moscow, Manchester, London and Prague.

     "Creative Visions: Hong Kong Cinema 1997-2017" is an accredited event celebrating the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the HKSAR.

     For more information on the Paris screenings, please visit www.cinematheque.fr/.

Ends/Thursday, September 21, 2017
Issued at HKT 22:17

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