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The ¡§Chinese Film Panorama 2008: Commemorating the 30th Anniversary of China¡¦s Reform and Opening-up¡¨ opened tonight (October 16) at the Hong Kong Science Museum.
The event is jointly presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and South China Film Industry Workers Union, in association with Sil-Metropole Organisation Ltd and Southern Film Co Ltd.
Officiating at the opening ceremony were the Deputy Director-General of the Film Bureau of the State Administration of Radio, Film and TV in the People¡¦s Republic of China, Mr Zhang Hongsen; the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Tsang Tak-sing; the Deputy Director of the Hong Kong Basic Law Committee, Ms Elsie Leung Oi-sie; the Secretary General of the Liaison Office of the Central People¡¦s Government in the HKSAR, Mr Zhao Guangting; the Director-General of the Publicity, Culture and Sports Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People¡¦s Government in the HKSAR, Ms Zhang Yanjun; the Chairman of the South China Film Industry Workers Union, Mr Yu Lun; Chairman and General Manager of the Sil-Metropole Organisation Ltd Mr Song Dai and Chairman and General Manager of the Southern Film Co Ltd Ms Ren Yue.
Other guests included the Factory Director of the Fujian Film Studio, Mr Zhan Jincan; leading actor and actress of the opening film ¡§Sudden Incidence¡¨ Wu Gang and Fan Zhibo; the director of ¡§Dream Weavers - Beijing 2008¡¨, Gu Jun and local film celebrities.
From today until November 9, 10 Mainland productions depicting social and economic changes in China in past decades will be screened at the Cinema of the Hong Kong Film Archive, and the Lecture Halls of the Hong Kong Space Museum and Hong Kong Science Museum.
The commercialisation, modernisation and internationalisation of China¡¦s cinema in the past three decades have raised its artistic standards to international levels.
Based on the novel by Fujian writer Yang Shaoheng, the opening film ¡§Sudden Incidence¡¨ (2007) is about the conflict between a veteran county official and his new young deputy who begin as rivals but whose relationship ends in mutual trust after they have to jointly tackle a series of unexpected incidents. The film won the Award for Realism-themed Film at the 15th Beijing Student Film Festival.
A second opening night film ¡§Way of the Snowstorm¡¨ (2007), which was filmed on location on the beautiful plateaus of Xinjiang, is about the joint efforts of police and civilians in a rescue operation conducted in a blizzard. Under the severest conditions, the extremes of human nature, self-sacrifice and selfishness, are exposed in this thriller of magnificent scope. The film won the Best Feature Film award at the Kazakhstan Almaty International Film Festival.
Other highlights are the romantic comedy ¡§The Longest Night in Shanghai¡¨ (2007) starring Zhao Wei and Motoki Masahiro; documentary ¡§Dream Weavers - Beijing 2008¡¨ (2008); light-hearted comedy featuring the folkloric culture of Yangzhou ¡§Good Man¡¨ (2007); stories about rural life and cultural heritage in ¡§Song of Tibet¡¨ (2000), ¡§Heavenly Grassland¡¨ (2002) and ¡§In the Wild Mountains¡¨ (1985); and dramas on industrialisation in ¡§The Dream is Alive¡¨ (2007) and ¡§Final Dash¡¨ (2002).
Except for ¡§The Longest Night in Shanghai¡¨, which is in Putonghua and Japanese, all films are in Putonghua. All films have English and Chinese subtitles.
Tickets priced at $45 are available at URBTIX outlets. Half-price tickets are available for senior citizens aged 60 and above, people with disabilities, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients. There will be a 10% discount for each purchase of six to 10 tickets and a 20% discount for each purchase of 11 or more tickets.
For programme information and discount details, call 2734 2900, 2780 5355 or 2527 7284 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/fp. Reservations can be made by phone on 2734 9009 or on the Internet at www.urbtix.hk.
Ends/Thursday, October 16, 2008
Issued at HKT 21:21
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