The Hong Kong Arts Centre is showcasing a moving image programme, “New Waves, New Shores: Busan International Film Festival,” with the Busan International Film Festival, which is its partner film festival.

The Hong Kong Arts Centre is a non-profit and non-governmental multi-arts centre that aims at helping young film talents build a long-term sustainable career and get recognised on local and international levels through networking. At the Louis Koo Cinema operated by the Hong Kong Arts Centre, works of a variety of genres including everlasting classics to avant-garde eye-openers, shorts, documentaries, foreign films, independent works, commercials and others are presented in order to satisfy the diversified tastes of the audience.

New Waves, New Shores: Busan International Film Festival, presented by the Hong Kong Arts Centre, aims to introduce the importance of BIFF as one of the leading film festivals in Asia and how it assists budding filmmakers from Hong Kong and South Korea.

The programme includes an integrated series of screenings, talks, workshops and a masterclass. The screenings comprise a Hong Kong showcase curated by Maggie Lee (Asia Chief Film Critic, Variety; curator for Tokyo and Vancouver International Film Festivals), and a Korean showcase co-curated by Lee and Nam Dong-chul (Program Director, Busan International Film Festival). The screening programme showcases 12 Korean films and 10 Hong Kong films, accompanied by after-screening talks by local and Korean filmmakers.

Asian filmmakers who are participating as special guests include: Chung Seo-kyung (Screenwriter for Park Chan-wook; her filmography includes The Handmaiden, Thirst, and Lady Vengeance), Fruit Chan (Hong Kong director of Dumplings and Public Toilet), Yang Ik-june (Korean director and lead actor, Breathless), Lee Hae-young (Korean director of Believer and Like a Virgin), and more film talents of the participating films. Local guests will attend in person, while overseas guests will join us virtually. For the line-up of films and attending guests, please refer to Annex 3 and Annex 4.

Connie Lam, Executive Director, Hong Kong Arts Centre, expressed, “This programme will be an opportunity for us all to learn more about a great Asian international film festival, the Busan International Film Festival – its diverse and expansive vision of film programming, its many initiatives in bringing up new Asian filmmakers, its welcoming attitude for filmmakers from everywhere - all underlined by the desire for a brave new world of cinema. We are honoured to present this amazing programme in partnership with BIFF and our two wonderful curators.”

Huh Moon-yung, Festival Director, Busan International Film Festival, said, “I was thrilled to hear that outstanding works from previous editions of BIFF will be screened in Hong Kong. This programme reflects the cinematic friendship that Hong Kong has shown to Busan, and for that, I am deeply grateful. I sincerely hope that the cinematic friendship between the two cities will continue to develop for years to come.”

Kim Young-jin, Chairman, Korean Film Council, stated, “New Waves, New Shore heralds the birth of a new network in the Asian film industry, and KOFIC is fully supportive of this meaningful journey. Through this joint programme, the film industry can revisit the footprints that the Hong Kong and Korean film industries left on world cinema history. I also hope that filmmakers can explore new possibilities and draw inspiration from the programme.”

Maggie Lee, Asia Chief Film Critic, Variety, remarked, “Since its inception in 1996, BIFF has become one of the most influential film festivals in the world, and contributes immeasurably to South Korea’s film industry. This programme aims to show how BIFF launched the careers of new talents while introducing the achievements of established directors to international critics and programmers.”

Nam Dong-chul commented, “Over the years, the South Korean film industry and BIFF have grown and earned global recognition together. To hold a special programme of previous BIFF-screened films in an Asian metropolis like Hong Kong is one of the best proofs of that growth. Conversely, Hong Kong, as a film city, also played a big role in making BIFF what it is today. It is no accident that Busan and Hong Kong have become two defining cities in Asian cinema,” raising expectations regarding the future of the Busan International Film Festival, which supports emerging Asian filmmakers, and the Hong Kong Arts Centre.

The Hong Kong Arts Centre (HKAC) presents New Waves, New Shores: Busan International Film Festival, a moving image programme financially supported by the Film Development Fund, Create Hong Kong, with Festival Partner, the Busan International Film Festival, from 25 November 2021 to 16 January 2022. Participants may join through online reservations on POPTICKET (https://popticket.hk)

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