We present Making Waves – Navigators of Hong Kong Cinema, a special screening programme that celerbrates Hong Kong cinema on screen in London which is taking place until July 10, 2022. Don’t miss this fantastic event!

Presented by Create Hong Kong in partnership with Focus Hong Kong, and is supported by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, “Making Waves – Navigators of Hong Kong Cinema” comes to London 8-10 July, bringing an exciting selection of new films and restored classics to the big screen. The event will take place at the Soho Hotel and The Garden Cinema, including a very special live holo-presence event and an online virtual exhibition.

Note: We will post the programme starting from July 9, 2022.

July 9, 2022 | SOHO HOTEL in London, UK | 11:40 am
Special Screening of “Comrades, Almost a Love Story” & Peter Chan holo-presence

In a story spanning the decade between 1986 and 1996, two Chinese Mainlanders who migrate to Hong Kong are brought together first by comradeship and then by love. Naïve northerner Jun (Leon Lai) hopes to be able to earn enough money to marry his girlfriend back home, while streetwise Qiao (Maggie Cheung), Cantonese speaker from Guangzhou runs scams to takes advantage of fellow Mainlanders. Alone in the big city, the two embark on a passionate affair, though harsh realities threaten to tear them apart.

Widely recognised as Peter Chan’s best work, Comrades, Almost a Love Story is one of the most beloved and acclaimed classics of contemporary Hong Kong cinema, winning multiple awards and nominations on its original release and frequently being included in critic’s lists of the best Chinese language films of all-time. Featuring Maggie Cheung and Leon Lai on iconic form, the film’s title comes from the Tian Mi Mi by singer Teresa Teng, whose songs feature throughout. (Making Waves 2022)

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July 9, 2022 | GARDEN CINEMA, in London, UK | 4:30 pm

Nam and Yuet have been best friends since their school days. On the night before Yuet’s wedding, Nam recalls their time together at school, when they shared a relationship that was more than friendship, but also perhaps not quite love. Looking back, she remembers how the girls faced a series of hurdles from the educational system and society in general, and ultimately from their own looming adulthood.

First time directors Candy Ng Wing-shan and Yeung Chiu-hoi’s lovingly nostalgic and bittersweet film offers a unique LGBTQ+ twist on the well-worn pure love youth romance formula. Beautifully shot with pastel-colours and full of sympathetic and nuanced characters to empathise with, the film has a winning sense of time and place, with plenty of references to Hong Kong culture, fashion and Leslie Cheung. (Making Waves 2022)

Trailer:

July 9, 2022 | GARDEN CINEMA, in London, UK | 7:00 pm

An old school anthology consisting of three short films, Tales from the Occult is the first in a new omnibus series about the hidden horrors that lurk behind the urban landscape of Hong Kong. The first instalment brings together three directors, including a veteran filmmaker, a rising talent and another making his directing debut for a trio of tales that mix urban menace, dark satire and grisly twist – The Mall (directed by Fruit Chan), The Tenement (directed by Fung Chih Chiang) and The Chink (directed by Wesley Hoi).

In The Mall, while hosting a live stream that introduces a new shopping mall for potential entrepreneurs, a YouTuber is confronted by an influencer who specializes in exposés. Meanwhile, a masked avenger also roams the halls of the mall, setting the scene for a shocking denouement about a terrifying incident that happened before the mall’s renovation.

On the stairwell of The Tenement, a soaked mystery figure in a raincoat is blocking the exit. As it slowly creeps upstairs, the building’s remaining residents suspect that it’s the spirit of a drowning victim. A bold but cautious novelist and her fellow residents turn to a former triad assassin living on the 5th floor for help.

The Chink follows a young pop star who moves into a new home to have more time with her married boyfriend. However, her plan backfires as her mental health deteriorates. Distressed and driven to the edge, she can’t tell whether she is suffering a relapse of her depression, or if she is being haunted by a menacing ghost. (Making Waves 2022)

Trailer:

July 10, 2022 | GARDEN CINEMA, in London, UK | 12:30 pm

First-time writer director Chan Kin-long makes his debut with neo-noir Hand Rolled Cigarette, one of the most acclaimed films from Hong Kong of the last couple of years, winning multiple nominations at the Golden Horse Awards and the White Mulberry at the Far East Film Festival, as well as being selected for a list of festivals around the world.

Gordon Lam headlines as Chiu, an ex-soldier whose unit was disbanded by the British during the 1997 handover of Hong Kong, who now works as a middleman trying to broker deals with the Triads, estranged from his old squad mates due to a past tragedy. While trying to push a deal involving turtles between his Taiwanese smuggler friend Pickle (To Yin-gor) and the volatile Boss Tai (Ben Yuen), matters become more complicated when he finds a South Asian man called Mani (Bipin Karma) hiding out in his Chungking Mansions flat. Learning that Mani has in his possession a backpack full of cocaine which his cousin stole from Tai, Chiu agrees to let him stay in return for $1 million, and though initially distrustful of each other, the two men gradually find common ground. With the turtle deal running into problems and with Tai’s men stepping up their search for Mani, the pressure on Chiu grows, and he’s faced by a series of difficult choices. (Making Waves 2022)

Trailer:

July 10, 2022 | GARDEN CINEMA, in London, UK | 3:30 pm

Wildly entertaining and cleverly plotted, Breakout Brothers is a stylish prison caper thriller in the classic Hong Kong style, and was a surprise smash hit at the box office.

After being scapegoated for a botched construction project, Tin is sent to prison, sharing his cell with Chan, a good-hearted small time crook. The prison is divided in two camps, led by triad leaders Roller and Scar, and when Scar is hired by Tin’s former associates to silence him, Tin and Chan start to plan a desperate escape. Things become more complicated when Roller decides to join them, and they come up against corrupt prison authorities as they try to figure a way out. Combining action, comedy and drama, Breakout Brothers is a fun throwback to the prison escape genre in fast moving and thrilling fashion. (Making Waves 2022)

Trailer:

July 10, 2022 | GARDEN CINEMA, in London, UK | 6:00 pm
Closing Gala: UK Premire of “July Rhapsody”
+ Introduction by East Asian film programmer, critic, and filmmaker Tony Rayns

Widely regarded as one of the best works of modern Hong Kong cinema, the multiple award-winning July Rhapsody stars Anita Mui in her final role before her tragic death in 2003. Directed by Ann Hui, the film is a deeply affecting character-driven exploration of broken relationships, destructive yearning and lost dreams, drawing on Chinese poetry and with an impressive ensemble cast that also includes Jackie Cheung and Karena Lam.

The story revolves around high school teacher Lam Yiu-kwok (Jackie Cheung) and his wife Chan Man-ching (Anita Mui), who initially seem to be living the perfect family life. However, tensions lurk in the shadows, and when a student (Karena Lam) falls in love with Yiu-kwok and a figure from Man-ching’s past reappears, the cracks in their relationship start to show, throwing them into emotional turmoil. (Making Waves 2022)

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For more information, please visit: https://focushongkong.uk/strand/making-waves/