The 32nd HKIFF is proud to open this year’s film festival with Japanese maestro Yamada Yoji‘s Kabei – Our Mother and Taiwanese director Chang Tso-Chi‘s Soul of a Demon. The 76-year-old Yamada once again demonstrates masterful skills in his 80th film to date and presents a sweet, gentle, weepy recollection of Japan on the eve of the Second World War. Lead actress Yoshinaga Sayuri offers a noble, touching performance as the unassuming mother who is saddled with unexpected responsibilities, while Asano Tadanobu, one of the best known young Japanese actors at the moment,is again chameleon-like as the fiercely faithful Yamazaki.
An HAF 203 project, helmer Chang Tso-Chi tells a Taiwanese aboriginal tale in Soul of a Demon with magical realism. The film features colorful and enchanting indigenous flavors. Director Yamada Yoji and Asano Tadanobu from Kabei - Our Mother, Chang Tso-Chi, along with lead actors Tseng Yi-che and Chen Pei-chun from Soul of a Demon, are all expected to attend HKIFF’s opening ceremony on 18 March to meet the audience in person.
Shine A Light, the highly anticipated Rolling Stones documentary by Academy Award Best Director Martin Scorsese and Coffee or Tea, from veteran local director Shu Kei and his protégé Kwan Man-hin, have been selected as this year’s closing films. Assembling an incredible team of cinematographers to capture the raw energy of the legendary band from multiple angles, Scorsese filmed the Stones over a two-day period at the intimate Beacon Theater in New York City in the fall of 2006 in order to immortalize the world's greatest rock 'n roll band on film. Shine A Light’s two screenings at HKIFF are bound to sell out in record time!
Starring Kate Yeung, Coffee or Tea is an intimate story about a modern love triangle. Director Shu Kei returns from the academic arena to the filmmaking scene to co-direct this film with a top student of his at the Academy for Performing Arts. The dynamics of a veteran and an emerging director give this film an unusual perspective.
The 32nd HKIFF offers numerous Gala Premieres, highly acclaimed Hollywood productions, fresh fare with popular starlets, animated features from around the world, cutting edge midnight screenings and masterpieces from veteran and new auteurs, promising audiences three full weeks of feast of sight and sound. The full program lineup and ticketing information will be announced at a press conference on 21 February, with well known directors and actors from several local productions in attendance.
