Every March, Hong Kong puts on two major events: its annual film festival and the uber-popular sporting event, the Rugby Sevens. Although it doesn’t compare to major European festivals like Cannes, Venice or Berlin, or North American ones such as Sundance, Toronto or Telluride, the Hong Kong International Film Festival is still a once-a-year chance for local cinephiles to sample loads of varied movies from every corner of the globe. It's one of Asia's most important festivals.
And, as I detailed in a post last year, the Rugby Sevens tournament is probably the city’s single most exciting and entertaining weekend, a three day party of rugby revelry. The film festival lasts for over two weeks, and when it intersects with the rugby, it’s hard to recall a time of year when I love this place more.
In addition to the screenings themselves, the festival also provides moviegoers with a chance to meet and discuss the films with some of the creative personnel whose talents went in to creating them. Directors, writers, producers and performers can often be found in attendance, and these 'meet the audience' sessions are probably my favorite events.
For example, on Sunday, March 18th, Keanu Reeves was in town to present a documentary he produced entitled Side By Side, about the ongoing transition between film and digital technology in Hollywood. I found the film itself very interesting, especially considering the list of directors interviewed on camera (Scorsese, Lucas, Cameron, Lynch, Nolan and Von Trier), but the real icing on the cake was having Reeves appear post-screening to discuss the film and field questions from the packed house. He talked about his current project (he is directing and starring in a kung fu movie being filmed in Beijing) and what he learned during the production of Side By Side. Although it slightly broke my heart to stay indoors on such a beautiful Sunday, it was totally worth it for such an interesting occasion. Even the Wall Street Journal posted an article about his visit.
A second in-person event was held on Thursday night. Charlotte Rampling, an iconic British actress who has made a major impression in the independent film industry, presented a quasi-self portrait that features her and her friends discussing various subjects (love, death, beauty, taboo, resonance, etc.) and how her view on these subjects informs her screen performances. Although Ms. Rampling only spoke for a minute or two before the screening, it was still a great opportunity to see a living legend in the flesh. And the movie itself, called The Look, was fascinating.
And, as I detailed in a post last year, the Rugby Sevens tournament is probably the city’s single most exciting and entertaining weekend, a three day party of rugby revelry. The film festival lasts for over two weeks, and when it intersects with the rugby, it’s hard to recall a time of year when I love this place more.
In addition to the screenings themselves, the festival also provides moviegoers with a chance to meet and discuss the films with some of the creative personnel whose talents went in to creating them. Directors, writers, producers and performers can often be found in attendance, and these 'meet the audience' sessions are probably my favorite events.
For example, on Sunday, March 18th, Keanu Reeves was in town to present a documentary he produced entitled Side By Side, about the ongoing transition between film and digital technology in Hollywood. I found the film itself very interesting, especially considering the list of directors interviewed on camera (Scorsese, Lucas, Cameron, Lynch, Nolan and Von Trier), but the real icing on the cake was having Reeves appear post-screening to discuss the film and field questions from the packed house. He talked about his current project (he is directing and starring in a kung fu movie being filmed in Beijing) and what he learned during the production of Side By Side. Although it slightly broke my heart to stay indoors on such a beautiful Sunday, it was totally worth it for such an interesting occasion. Even the Wall Street Journal posted an article about his visit.
A second in-person event was held on Thursday night. Charlotte Rampling, an iconic British actress who has made a major impression in the independent film industry, presented a quasi-self portrait that features her and her friends discussing various subjects (love, death, beauty, taboo, resonance, etc.) and how her view on these subjects informs her screen performances. Although Ms. Rampling only spoke for a minute or two before the screening, it was still a great opportunity to see a living legend in the flesh. And the movie itself, called The Look, was fascinating.
Charlotte Rampling introducing The Look
Friday was the start of the rugby tournament, and work again came to a stand still as the whole market was scrambling to buy tickets to the event. I spent most of the morning scouring the expat websites, writing messages to sellers and trying to secure myself a ticket for Saturday only. Then, the Rugby Sevens gods smiled upon me—BIG TIME! Kevin happened to have lunch that day at Liberty, a bar near our former office. It turns out that they had one elusive three-day pass that they had held onto until the last minute. They gave it to Kevin for free, but as he never intended on going to the tournament this year, he handed it over to me. People were paying thousands of dollars for a single day's ticket, and through some twist of fate, I got access to the entire weekend’s worth of sports for nothing! I could never have hoped to get that lucky, and I was on a high all weekend because of my good fortune.
My Three-Day Pass
Friday afternoon, after heading down to meet Kevin at Liberty to collect my prize—and have a few celebratory drinks—I made my way to Hong Kong Stadium in Causeway Bay. As the upset-laden March Madness tournament unfolded half-a-world away, we Hongkongers began celebrating our own favorite sporting event of the year. The atmosphere was already electric when I arrived around 6pm, and I knew it was the start of a great weekend.
Friday Night Rugby
That night I grabbed dinner with some friends, sang a little karaoke, and made my way home relatively early, knowing full well what the next day held in store. Last year, participating in my first Rugby Sevens, I showed up too late to gain entry to the South Stand, and I also never got a group costume together. As I promised in last year’s blog entry on the Rugby Sevens, I was going all out this year—arriving bright and early in full costume to spend the day surrounded by the mayhem of Hong Kong’s greatest party.
Me and my roommate Rich (a penguin and a giraffe, respectively) joined up with my friend Eleni and all of her friends (NASCAR drivers and pit girls) and entered the South Stand around 8:30am… As the stadium filled with costumed revelers of all sorts, it became clear just why this day of the event is such a special and hotly anticipated Hong Kong tradition. As the day went on, I hardly was conscious of the rugby being played only a few yards away. The day was full of friends, costumes, singing and partying, and I will never forget it!
Me and my roommate Rich (a penguin and a giraffe, respectively) joined up with my friend Eleni and all of her friends (NASCAR drivers and pit girls) and entered the South Stand around 8:30am… As the stadium filled with costumed revelers of all sorts, it became clear just why this day of the event is such a special and hotly anticipated Hong Kong tradition. As the day went on, I hardly was conscious of the rugby being played only a few yards away. The day was full of friends, costumes, singing and partying, and I will never forget it!
South Stand Fun
Sunday is generally a slightly less-intense party with a bit more focus on the rugby, as the tournament heats up and teams are eliminated until the final match. This year, Fiji faced New Zealand and emerged victorious. My friends Gauthier and Courtney managed to get me an executive pass so I could watch the rugby with them in the corporate boxes, and as luck would have it, we were surrounded by faithful Fijians cheering on their victorious heroes. It was a great ending to my second HK Rugby Sevens.
With the rugby finished, my attention turned back to the film festival. In fact, earlier in the day before going to the stadium, I caught a movie in Kowloon called Martha Marcy May Marlene, an intense American indie about a young girl (Elizabeth Olsen, sister of Mary Kate and Ashley) involved in a disturbing cult. And that night, following the conclusion of the games, I went to Mongkok to see a brutal but impressive British gang flick called My Brother the Devil.
Monday was another two-movie day. The “director in focus” for this year’s festival is Peter Ho-Sun Chan, a Hong Kong-based filmmaker who has helmed numerous gems of the local cinema. As part of the festival, almost all of his films are being screened over the course of two weeks, and I wanted to catch at least one of them. The best fit with my schedule was probably the director’s least typical film, but it was very enjoyable fluff. In 1999, Chan went to Hollywood to film a mainstream romantic comedy with Kate Capshaw, Tom Selleck, Ellen Degeneres and Gloria Stuart. The result was The Love Letter, a New England-set fable about the titular anonymous love letter that turns a sleepy little town on its ear. There wasn’t much depth to the story, but the performances were wholly charming and there were some priceless moments. It’s also very interesting how the sheer virtue of the film’s age made it instantly fascinating as a sort of time capsule of pre-millennium life.
Ally and I went for a delicious lunch in Sai Kung after the movie. It was actually my first visit to the renowned village in Hong Kong's New Territories, although I had heard about it for years and sailed past on junks many times.
That night I took a shot on a random French Canadian film called Bestiare. There was no real plot or story—just a series of images of animals and, occasionally, humans. It opens with some art students sketching a stuffed deer and then transitions to footage of actual animals in a safari park outside Montreal during the cold, isolated winter months. Next, it shows some taxidermy artists at work in their studio before concluding with more footage of the animals at the safari park, this time during the crowded touristy summer season. It was a completely beguiling film, with high definition images so clear you could practically feel the fur of the various beasts. There was no narration, no music, not even titles listing the names of the animals; the audience stared at the creatures on screen, and it felt as if they were staring right back. The film made me smile, laugh and think. I can’t imagine it will be a huge hit worldwide, but then again, it’s movies like Bestiare that make film festivals the special events that they are.
The same is true of the film I saw Tuesday night. The Living Corpse is a recently-restored 1927 German silent, based on the eponymous play by Leo Tolstoy. Only the second stop on a world-wide film festival tour, the new print of this epic film was screened in the lecture hall of the Hong Kong Science Museum and was complete with live piano accompaniment. There were some plot holes and weak moments in the story, but on the whole, the film was incredible—especially its intense editing, great shots and compelling characters.
After the movie, I rushed back to Hong Kong Island to grab a 'goodbye beer' with Billy, our most recent roommate, who moved into the flat after Remco finished his internship. He is my thirteenth roommate since arriving in Hong Kong, and he wanted to go home to Canada for a month or so before moving to Beijing to start a new job with Microsoft. It was really nice to have a good chat with him, Rich and Ally before he flew home.
As the week goes on, I have several more films I am going to try to fit in—including a restored screening of Taxi Driver at the Cultural Centre on Sunday. Stressfully, Sunday is also Palm Sunday in addition to moving day for me and my roommate Rich, as we relocate to a new apartment in Happy Valley. And two days later, I fly to Thailand for a weeklong Easter vacation, so it’s just another busy and exciting period of life in this crazy city!
With Courtney and Gauthier
With the rugby finished, my attention turned back to the film festival. In fact, earlier in the day before going to the stadium, I caught a movie in Kowloon called Martha Marcy May Marlene, an intense American indie about a young girl (Elizabeth Olsen, sister of Mary Kate and Ashley) involved in a disturbing cult. And that night, following the conclusion of the games, I went to Mongkok to see a brutal but impressive British gang flick called My Brother the Devil.
Monday was another two-movie day. The “director in focus” for this year’s festival is Peter Ho-Sun Chan, a Hong Kong-based filmmaker who has helmed numerous gems of the local cinema. As part of the festival, almost all of his films are being screened over the course of two weeks, and I wanted to catch at least one of them. The best fit with my schedule was probably the director’s least typical film, but it was very enjoyable fluff. In 1999, Chan went to Hollywood to film a mainstream romantic comedy with Kate Capshaw, Tom Selleck, Ellen Degeneres and Gloria Stuart. The result was The Love Letter, a New England-set fable about the titular anonymous love letter that turns a sleepy little town on its ear. There wasn’t much depth to the story, but the performances were wholly charming and there were some priceless moments. It’s also very interesting how the sheer virtue of the film’s age made it instantly fascinating as a sort of time capsule of pre-millennium life.
Ally and I went for a delicious lunch in Sai Kung after the movie. It was actually my first visit to the renowned village in Hong Kong's New Territories, although I had heard about it for years and sailed past on junks many times.
Lunch in Sai Kung
That night I took a shot on a random French Canadian film called Bestiare. There was no real plot or story—just a series of images of animals and, occasionally, humans. It opens with some art students sketching a stuffed deer and then transitions to footage of actual animals in a safari park outside Montreal during the cold, isolated winter months. Next, it shows some taxidermy artists at work in their studio before concluding with more footage of the animals at the safari park, this time during the crowded touristy summer season. It was a completely beguiling film, with high definition images so clear you could practically feel the fur of the various beasts. There was no narration, no music, not even titles listing the names of the animals; the audience stared at the creatures on screen, and it felt as if they were staring right back. The film made me smile, laugh and think. I can’t imagine it will be a huge hit worldwide, but then again, it’s movies like Bestiare that make film festivals the special events that they are.
The same is true of the film I saw Tuesday night. The Living Corpse is a recently-restored 1927 German silent, based on the eponymous play by Leo Tolstoy. Only the second stop on a world-wide film festival tour, the new print of this epic film was screened in the lecture hall of the Hong Kong Science Museum and was complete with live piano accompaniment. There were some plot holes and weak moments in the story, but on the whole, the film was incredible—especially its intense editing, great shots and compelling characters.
Goodbye, Billy!
