HONG KONG FILM FESTIVAL UK
RETURNS TO 7 CITIES ACROSS THE UK 

With a 37-film programme spanning 27 features and documentaries as well as 10 shorts, HKFF (UK) will be returning this March with a Festival titled “Home Away From Home”. Distance and disparity unveils a world of possibility; between Hong Kongers in the UK and those in Hong Kong, between the Hong Kong we once lived in, but can now only watch from afar. Between the Hong Kong in our dreams, and the Hong Kong laid bare to us now; between your Hong Kong and history’s Hong Kong, between a colonial Hong Kong and post-colonial Hong Kong. A pre-1997 versus a post-2019 Hong Kong, a Hong Kong under the world’s watchful eyes, and that under our own scrutinising gaze… It is through this year’s programme that we aim to discover, define, and reimagine the two Hong Kongs. 

• A mix of in-person and online screening, HKFF(UK) unveils its line-up for a hybrid edition running from 18 - 31 March 2023

• Cinema screenings will take place in venues across Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, London, Manchester and Nottingham

• Selected online titles will be available to UK-wide audiences from 24 - 31 March 2023

FULL PROGRAMME AND TICKETS AVAILABLE AT: www.hkff.uk

LONDON (1 March 2023) - The second edition of Hong Kong Film Festival (UK) returns to cinemas across the UK with a programme of 37 films (27 screening titles, 10 online shorts) this March. Expanding into three more cities, thanks to support of the BFI Audience Fund, awarding National Lottery funding, the Festival will be going beyond London to independent venues across Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Manchester and Nottingham, plus, offering a selection of short films online for audiences to enjoy at home. 

Following the 2019 protests that rocked the foundations of Hong Kong and prompted mass migrations to across the world, The Hong Kong Film Festival UK CIC (HKFF UK) aims to retrace such journeys where the histories of Hong Kong and UK have crossed paths, hoping to guide this new generation in forging their identity ahead. We aim to shine an international spotlight on a new generation of creatives from Hong Kong and the Hong Kong diaspora in the UK, who blossomed especially in an era of drastic transformation. Through this new wave of Hong Kong cinema, the Festival strives to promote cultural interactions and spark exchanges between Hong Kong communities and the world. Building on our ever-changing social context and rich cultural heritage, it is time to reflect on the city’s enchanting, complex and challenging duality from a fresh perspective. 

The festival is separated into 5 sections: First, “Redefining Hong Kong: Portraits Over Time” is a collection of character studies centred on, but not necessarily made in Hong Kong, proposing open interpretations to Hong Kong’s past, present, and future. Taking a retrospective look at the protests of 2019 - the root of departures, a push and search for a new identity - our festival will open with the UK Premiere of If We Burn (James Leong, Lynn Lee, 2023), an urgent, immersive journey into the pro-democracy movement that stunned Beijing and captured the world's attention, and a meditation on what it means to resist. It comes to a close with Grass is Greener on the Other Side (Crystal Wong, 2022); speaking out on the aftermath of the 2019 protests, it follows the journey of Hong Kong migrants as they leave home to forge a free future in the UK. Part of the collection are Twilight’s Kiss (Ray Yeung, 2019), Keep Rolling (Man Lim Chung, 2020), and Say I Do to Me (Kiwi Chow, 2023), showcasing the best of our new generation of filmmakers negotiating their identities in a constantly transforming Hong Kong. 

“UK Visages & Chronicles of the Diaspora” traces the paths of those who relocated from Hong Kong early on, poised side by side in a juxtaposition of their experiences across different continents and eras. Featuring cross-country productions like Ping Pong (Po-Chih Leong, 1986) and Flowing Stories (Tsui Shan Tsang, 2014), both explore the issue of diaspora and negotiate the definition of “home”. 

“If, Humanity: Reflections in Asian Political Turmoil” is a curation of invaluable footage recorded by directors in Asia fighting for innate human rights. Included are Myanmar Diaries (The Myanmar Film Collective, 2022), Lost Course (Jill Li, 2019), and The Hong Konger: Jimmy Lai’s Extraordinary Struggle for Freedom (Acton Institute, 2022).  

“A Mirror Image: Hong Kong X Taiwan Documentaries'', is a combination of the most defining non-fiction films in the histories of Hong Kong and Taiwan. The two places have always been culturally interlinked. Through this programme, our festival hopes to take a retrospective view of our deep-rooted connection, and begin by exploring this in documentaries, so as to give a more comprehensive picture of the development of film in East Asia. Documentary-making has been on the rise in Hong Kong, and like Taiwan, it is similarly used as a method to prompt conversations surrounding social issues, allowing us to trace its development for our audiences in the UK. And finally, “The Classics”, showing the most exemplary of local and diasporic films from Hong Kong, including the iconic 4K restoration of  Lan Yu (Stanley Kwan, 2001) by internationally acclaimed director Stanley Kwan, and Ping Pong, the first British feature film written and directed by a British-Chinese filmmaking team. First of its kind, yet an overlooked landmark release that paints a poignant picture of the fluidity of British Chineseness. 

Further to this curation, the programme this year features a strong selection of short films as well. Three short film programmes have been planned - “Post Apocalyptic Hong Kong” questions history, humanity, and freedom in the face of a dark and dangerous Hong Kong; “The Inbetweeners” consists of character studies of people or pieces of land that carry dual identities or meanings. While those will take place in cinemas, a handpicked selection of 11 shorts will be screened online, including the highly commended After the riots, before the liberation (Hong Iu Chung, 2020), a film narrated by objects instead of people. They altogether come to exemplify the historical  relationship between Hong Kong and the UK - evolving from a colonial, post-colonial, and for most of us, our home away from home. 

Additional highlights include Blue Island (Tze Woon Chan, 2022) and 2004 Turner Prize Winner Jeremy Deller’s  Battle of the Orgreave (Mike Figgis, Jeremy Deller, 2001), a juxtaposing parallel screening exploring the use of reenactment in demonstrations of resistance. Where Blue Island speaks of Hong Kong, and  Battle of the Orgreave the UK, by utilising art in dissidence, together they invite us to also bear witness to the sign of our times, a subject which will be further explored in their panel discussion taking place in late March. 

Some films will have concurrent screenings in venues across the UK. Please refer to HKFF UK’s social media channels and website for the most updated information. 

The following will be attending in-person Q&As:

Jeremy Deller
Dir. Crystal WONG

Dir. Kiwi CHOW

Dir. Steve LI

Dir. Asgard WONG

Dir. Andy WILLIS

Dir. JJ CHAN

Dir. Carrie SHEN

Dir. Fredie CHAN

Dir. Tammy CHEUNG

Prod. Yong Ning ZHANG

Lucy SHEEN