Hong Kong—Taking pride in its time-honored tradition, the 47th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF47) will screen four classic Chinese flicks that an audience will resonate with today.
Nomad (Director’s Cut) by Patrick Tam is long considered a Hong Kong New Wave landmark. Highly controversial for its sex and violence, this story about youthful ennui and revolution was heavily censored on its original release. On its 41st anniversary, Tam has re-edited and restored the film in 4K, making this the perfect opportunity to revisit the mesmerizing performances by Leslie Cheung, Cecilia Yip, Pat Ha, and Kent Tong.
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Highly regarded as a cultural touchstone, Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s A City of Sadness, to be screened in a new 4K digital version, depicts a deaf-mute doctor whose family is caught up in the violence and aftermath of the 228 Incident in 1947. It made cinema history by becoming the first Chinese language film to take home the Venice Golden Lion for Best Film in 1989.
Image courtesy of HKIFF47
Taking the limelight as the closing film of the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight in 1992, Dust of Angels re-emerges as a monumental work of New Taiwanese Cinema in a newly restored 4K version after three decades. Deriving from the aesthetics of producer Hou Hsiao-Hsien, director Hsu Hsiao-Ming shapes his richly contextualised film, reflecting the tumultuous post-martial law society in the 1990s.
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Edward Yang’s biting satire A Confucian Confusion was restored in 4K last year on the 15th anniversary of his passing. It revives a timely contemplation on modern society—torn between its new-found affluence, me-generation aspirations, and traditional modes of social conformity—through Yang’s sharp observation of a selection of volatile, self-absorbed urbanities.
Image courtesy of HKIFF47
From March 30 to April 10, HKIFF47 will feature physical, in-theater screenings, audience-engagement events, and a bespoke online programme. The whole programme for HKIFF47 this year will be made public on March 10.
The Chinese Restored Classics section will feature the following four films:
1982 Nomad (Director’s Cut) by Patrick Tam
1989 A City of Sadness by Hou Hsiao-Hsien
1992 Dust of Angels by Hsu Hsiao-Ming
1994 A Confucian Confusion by Edward Yang