Japanese filmmaker Nakashima Tetsuya’s The Brightest Sun and Malaysia-Hong Kong co-production Pavane For An Infant, directed by Chong Keat-Aun, will open this year’s Hong Kong International Film Festival (April 10-21).
Berlin Golden Bear winner Dreams (Sex Love), directed by Norway’s Dag Johan Haugerud, has been set as the closing film of the festival.
Two Hong Kong productions will receive Gala Screenings – Valley Of The Shadow Of Death, starring Anthony Wong, and Oliver Chan Siu-kuen’s Montages Of A Modern Motherhood, which played in Busan International Film Festival’s New Currents section and Tokyo International Film Festival’s Women’s Empowerment strand last year.
HKIFF’s Cinephile Paradise section will screen films such as Geng Jun’s Bel Ami, Vivian Qu’s Girls On Wire, Luca Guadagnino’s Queer, Luis Ortega’s Kill The Jockey and Yeo Siew Hua’s Stranger Eyes.
As previously announced, Hong Kong actor and producer Louis Koo has been selected as the Filmmaker In Focus at this year’s HKIFF, which will showcase ten of his influential works, publish a commemorative book and host a Face-to-Face session in which Koo will share his career journey with a public audience.
French director Leos Carax and Japanese actress Ando Sakura are also among the international filmmakers attending the festival in person to meet with local audiences. Carax will present his most recent film, Annette, starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard, along with Bad Blood (1986), The Lovers On The Bridge (1991) and 2024 short film It’s Not Me.
Ando Sakura will present four films, including Harada Masato’s Bad Lands (2023), Kore-eda Hirokazu’s Shoplifters (2018), Take Masaharu’s 100 Yen Love (2014) and Ando Momoko’s 0.5mm (2014).
Following Spanish director Víctor Erice’s attendance at HKIFF last year, this year the festival will host Catalonian filmmaker Albert Serra, who will present his latest documentary, Afternoons Of Solitude, and host a masterclass. The festival will also screen a retrospective of Serra’s films.
The festival’s ‘Meet the Filmmaker’ series also includes Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen presenting his latest film, Silent Trilogy. Other filmmakers attending the festival to present their works and meet audiences include China’s Wang Bing and Vivian Qu, Japan’s Yaguchi Shinobu and Taiwan’s Lee Kang-Sheng.
