Hong Kong film director and screenwriter Andy Lo is attending the 5th Asian Film Festival.Barcelona, which is presenting seven Hong Kong productions and China-Hong Kong co-productions in Barcelona, Spain, from November 2 to 12 (Barcelona time) with the support of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Brussels (HKETO, Brussels).

     To take Hong Kong films to a wider audience in Spain, HKETO, Brussels has once again worked with festival organiser Casa Asia, which was created in 2001 by Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation to support activities that contribute to better understanding and relations between people in Spain and Asia. The Festival is presenting around 100 films from 25 Asian countries and regions this year.

     The Hong Kong feature films being screened at the Festival are Chan Chi-fat's "Weeds on Fire" (2016), Derek Hui's "This Is Not What I Expected" (2017), Andy Lo's "Happiness" (2016), Derek Tsang's "Soul Mate" (2016), Wong Chun's "Mad World" (2016) and Herman Yau's "77 Heartbreaks" (2017). The Festival is also screening Bing Wang's documentary "Ta’Ang" (2016). 

     "Happiness", "77 Heartbreaks" and "Ta'Ang" are being screened as part of the Festival's Official Section, which contains the most recent films. "Mad World", "Weeds on Fire" and "Soul Mate" are part of the Panorama Section, which offers a selection of films produced up to two years earlier, while "This Is Not What I Expected" is being shown as part of the NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) Section. In each section, international juries will bestow awards for Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Script and Best Film. There will also be a Young Jury Award and a Public Award. Andy Lo will be a member of the Panorama Section Jury, while the Film Curator of Art Basel Hong Kong, Li Zhenhua, who is another guest of the Festival, will sit on the jury of the Official Section contest.

     At a reception hosted by HKETO, Brussels on November 9 (Barcelona time) before the screening of "77 Heartbreaks", Deputy Representative of HKETO, Brussels, Mr Sam Hui, said the selection demonstrated the richness of themes of Hong Kong cinema, from light comedy to psychological drama. 

     He thanked the Festival Director, Ms Menene Gras, for Casa Asia's good co-operation over the years in presenting Hong Kong films to Spanish audiences, and pointed out that 2017 is an important year for Hong Kong, as the city is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

     Mr Hui underlined that two of the films, "Weeds on Fire" and "Mad World", were winners of Create Hong Kong's First Feature Film Initiative, a scheme launched in 2013 on a pilot basis to help young filmmakers produce their first film with funding from the Hong Kong Film Development Council's Film Development Fund. The two films have received many prizes and award nominations, and the scheme had proved so effective in nurturing film production talents that Create Hong Kong had turned it into an annual subsidy scheme. 

     "Indeed, Hong Kong films continue to achieve critical success and gain international accolades. The Government will continue to work with the Hong Kong Film Development Council to support the film industry in Hong Kong on various fronts," Mr Hui added.

Ends/Friday, November 10, 2017
Issued at HKT 2:02

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