Elegies directed by Ann Hui, and Mad Fate directed by Soi Cheang will open the Hong Kong International Film Festival which will take place onsite and online from March 30 until April 10, 2023.

From Boat People (1982) to Our Time Will Come (2017), from family struggles to anti-Japanese history, Venice Career Golden Lion-winning auteur Ann Hui finally films a topic she holds most dear – poetry. Through her personal encounters with some of Hong Kong’s most notable poets, Hui shows the topography of contemporary poetry on and of the city. Two poles of reality, the unrestrained Huang Canran and the cosmopolitan Liu Wai-tong, are juxtaposed to reveal two distinctively different personalities, ideals, and ways of life. Seeing the late Xi Xi recite her own poem about the old Kai Tak Airport is a deeply heart-warming moment. (HKIFF 2023)

When a fortune teller predicts that a psychopath is destined to commit murder, he uses the powers of feng shui and metaphysics to change the course of events. A thematic continuation of his classic films about the neverending struggle between fate and free will, Soi Cheang delivers a gripping thriller with intensity and panache, powered by producer Johnnie To and screenwriter Yau Nai-hoi. Gordon Lam and Lokman Yeung are extraordinary as two men standing at the edge of sanity, as they fight an invisible enemy. Berlinale Special. (HKIFF 2023)

For more information about the festival please visit: https://www.hkiff.org.hk/