# 47th Hong Kong International Film Festival

The 47th Hong Kong International Film Festival (Chinese: 第47屆香港國際電影節) took place from 30 March to 10 April 2023, both online and in-person in Hong Kong. Soi Cheang was selected as the Filmmaker in Focus for this edition and masterclasses led by Tsai Ming-liang and Lee Kang-sheng were featured.
The festival opened with the Hong Kong mystery thriller Mad Fate by Soi Cheang and the documentary Elegies by Ann Hui, and it closed with the Hong Kong drama Vital Signs by Cheuk Wan-chi. This year, 197 films from 64 countries were screened, including nine world premieres, six international premieres, and sixty-seven Asian premieres. Aaron Kwok returned as the ambassador of HKIFF, marking his fifth year in this role.

## Background

The 47th Hong Kong International Film Festival was the first edition to return to normalcy following the COVID-19 pandemic. The theme of this edition is "Never Stops". The festival poster was designed by Frank Chan, who also created the posters for the previous two editions. It features little egrets, making it the third edition to use a Hong Kong bird in the design (following the barn swallow in the 45th and the tree sparrow in the 46th), which symbolizes a pursuit of beauty and nature, as well as a sign of fortune. On 1 February 2023, Aaron Kwok was announced to return as the ambassador of the Hong Kong International Film Festival, marking his fifth year in this role. Kwok described 2022 as "a year of harvest", with many Hong Kong films achieving both box office success and critical acclaim, and expressed a hope that the film industry could help society emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. This year was Kwok's final term as ambassador, with his title being succeeded by Karena Lam in the next edition.
Soi Cheang was announced as the Filmmaker in Focus for the festival on 3 February. Albert Lee, the executive director of the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society, explained that Cheang was chosen for his notably somber yet unmistakably personal visual style, which rarely deviates from mainstream storytelling conventions while exploring new boundaries in Hong Kong genre filmmaking. Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-liang and his frequent collaborator Lee Kang-sheng were also announced as features in the Masterclass section and would be attending the festival in person. A press conference held on 10 March revealed the full lineup and the titles of the competitive sections.
The film festival opened on 30 March 2023 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre with Soi Cheang's mystery thriller Mad Fate and Ann Hui's documentary Elegies. The festival was held both physically and online, with physical screenings priced at around $55 to $100 HKD, while online screenings were set at $50 HKD. A total of 197 films from 64 countries were screened, including nine world premieres, six international premieres, and sixty-seven Asian premieres. The film festival was part of the Entertainment Expo Hong Kong, which featured events such as the 16th Asian Film Awards and the 41st Hong Kong Film Awards taking place concurrently.
The Japanese drama Stonewalling by Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka won the Firebird Award for the Young Cinema Competition (Chinese-language), while the Mexican-Danish-French drama Tótem by Lila Avilés won the Firebird Award for the Young Cinema Competition (World). The Danish-Polish documentary Apolonia, Apolonia by Lea Glob received the Firebird Award for Documentary Competition. The FIPRESCI Prize was also awarded to Stonewalling, while the Taiwanese film Bad Education by Kai Ko received a Special Mention. The festival closed with the Hong Kong medical drama Vital Signs by Cheuk Wan-chi on 10 April.

## Jury

The jury of the Firebird Awards comprises:

### Young Cinema Competition (Chinese-language)

* Hsu Hsiao-ming, Taiwanese filmmaker
* Zhang Lü, Chinese filmmaker
* Mary Stephen, a French-based Hong Kong film editor

### Young Cinema Competition (World)

* Ann Hui, Hong Kong filmmaker
* Emmanuel Burdeau, French film critic
* Clarence Tsui, Hong Kong film critic

### Documentary Competition

* Malcolm Clarke, Chinese-based English filmmaker
* Uli Gaulke, German documentary filmmaker
* Qiu Jiongjiong, Chinese filmmaker

## Program sections
### Opening and closing films

The following films were chosen as the opening and closing features of the film festival, marking the Asian premiere of Mad Fate and world premieres of Elegies and Vital Signs:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Opening film ||||
| Mad Fate | 命案 | Soi Cheang | Hong Kong |
| Elegies | 詩 | Ann Hui | Hong Kong |
| Closing film ||||
| Vital Signs | 送院途中 | Cheuk Wan-chi | Hong Kong |

### Gala Presentation

The following films have been selected for screening in the Gala Presentation section:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Afire | Roter Himmel | Christian Petzold | Germany |
| Aftersun | — | Charlotte Wells | United Kingdom, United States |
| All the Beauty and the Bloodshed | — | Laura Poitras | United States |

### Cinephile Paradise

The following films have been selected for screening in the Cinephile Paradise section:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| The Beasts | As bestas | Rodrigo Sorogoyen | Spain, France |
| Corsage | — | Marie Kreutzer | Austria, Luxembourg, Germany, France |
| The Eight Mountains | Le otto montagne | Felix van Groeningen, Charlotte Vandermeersch | Italy, Belgium, France |
| Plan 75 | — | Chie Hayakawa | Japan, France, Philippines |
| Saint Omer | — | Alice Diop | France |
| Stars at Noon | — | Claire Denis | France |
| Subtraction | تفریق | Mani Haghighi | Iran |
| World War III | جنگ جهانی سوم | Houman Seyyedi | Iran |

### Firebird Awards
#### Young Cinema Competition (Chinese-language)

The following films were selected to compete in the Young Cinema Competition (Chinese-language) at the Firebird Awards. Stonewalling emerged as the winner, with Huang Xiaoxiong also named Best Actress for her performance in the film. Hong Heng-fai was named Best Director for Kissing the Ground You Walked On, and Li Xuejian received the Best Actor award for To Love Again. Bad Education was given a Special Mention.
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Absence | 雪雲 | Wu Lang | China |
| Bad Education | 黑的教育 | Kai Ko | Taiwan |
| Coo-Coo 043 | 一家子兒咕咕叫 | Chan Ching-lin | Taiwan |
| Kissing the Ground You Walked On | 海鷗來過的房間 | Hong Heng-fai | Macau |
| Night Falls | 夜幕將至 | Jian Haodong | China |
| Stonewalling | 石門 | Huang Ji, Ryuji Otsuka | Japan |
| To Love Again | 再團圓 | Gao Linyang | China |
| Tomorrow Is a Long Time | 明天比昨天長久 | Jow Zhi Wei | Singapore, Taiwan, France, Portugal |

#### Young Cinema Competition (World)

The following films were selected to compete in the Young Cinema Competition (World) at the Firebird Awards. Tótem emerged as the winner, with Martín Benchimol awarded Best Director for his debut The Castle. Mirko Giannini was named Best Actor for his role in Astrakan, while the ensemble female cast received the Best Actress award for 20,000 Species of Bees.
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| 20,000 Species of Bees | 20.000 especies de abejas | Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren | Spain |
| Animalia | — | Sofia Alaoui | France, Morocco, Qatar |
| Astrakan | — | David Depesseville | France |
| Autobiography | — | Makbul Mubarak | Indonesia, France, Singapore, Poland |
| The Cage is Looking for a Bird | Kletka ishet ptitsu | Malika Musaeva | France, Russia |
| The Castle | El castillo | Martín Benchimol | Argentina, France |
| Disco Boy | — | Giacomo Abbruzzese | France, Italy, Belgium, Poland |
| Tótem | ماء العين | Lila Avilés | Mexico, Denmark, France |

#### Documentary Competition

The following films were selected to compete in the Young Cinema Competition (Documentary) at the Firebird Awards. Apolonia, Apolonia emerged as the winner, while The Hamlet Syndrome received the jury prize.
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Apolonia, Apolonia | — | Lea Glob | Denmark, Poland |
| The Echo | El eco | Tatiana Huezo | Mexico, Germany |
| Fledglings | Pisklaki | Lidia Duda | Poland |
| The Hamlet Syndrome | — | Elwira Niewiera, Piotr Rosołowski | Poland, Germany |
| A Holy Family | 神人之家 | Elvis Lu | Taiwan |
| Paradise | Paradis | Alexander Abaturov | France, Switzerland |
| Smoke Sauna Sisterhood | Savvusanna sõsarad | Anna Hints | Estonia, France, Iceland |
| A Still Small Voice | — | Luke Lorentzen | United States |

### Pan-Chinese Cinema
#### Filmmaker in Focus

Soi Cheang was announced as the Filmmaker in Focus for the film festival on 3 February 2023, showcasing twelve of his previous works:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Year of release | Production countrie(s) |
| Our Last Day | 第100日 | Soi Cheang | 1999 | Hong Kong |
| Diamond Hill | 發光石頭 | Soi Cheang | 2000 | Hong Kong |
| Horror Hotline... Big Head Monster | 恐怖熱線之大頭怪嬰 | Soi Cheang | 2001 | Hong Kong |
| New Blood | 熱血青年 | Soi Cheang | 2002 | Hong Kong |
| Love Battlefield | 愛·作戰 | Soi Cheang | 2004 | Hong Kong |
| Home Sweet Home | 怪物 | Soi Cheang | 2005 | Hong Kong |
| Dog Bite Dog | 狗咬狗 | Soi Cheang | 2006 | Hong Kong |
| Shamo | 軍雞 | Soi Cheang | 2007 | Hong Kong |
| Accident | 意外 | Soi Cheang | 2009 | Hong Kong |
| Motorway | 車手 | Soi Cheang | 2012 | Hong Kong |
| SPL II: A Time for Consequences | 殺破狼2 | Soi Cheang | 2015 | Hong Kong |
| Limbo | 智齒 | Soi Cheang | 2021 | Hong Kong |

#### Chinese-language Restored Classics

Four restored Chinese classics were showcased as part of a sidebar at the film festival:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Year of release | Production countrie(s) |
| Nomad (Director's cut) | 烈火青春 | Patrick Tam | 1982 | Hong Kong |
| A City of Sadness | 悲情城市 | Hou Hsiao-hsien | 1989 | Taiwan |
| Dust of Angels | 少年吔，安啦！ | Hsu Hsiao-ming | 1992 | Taiwan |
| A Confucian Confusion | 獨立時代 | Edward Yang | 1994 | Taiwan |

### Masters and Auteurs
#### The Masters

The following films were selected for screening in the Masterclass section, including two works by Tsai Ming-Liang, who attended the festival in person to host a masterclass:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| A Couple | Un couple | Frederick Wiseman | France, United States |
| Fairytale | Сказка | Alexander Sokurov | Russia, Belgium |
| The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft | — | Werner Herzog | France, United Kingdom, Switzerland |
| Theater of Thought | — | Werner Herzog | United States |
| Ingeborg Bachmann – Journey into the Desert | — | Margarethe von Trotta | Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg, Austria |
| In Water | 물안에서 | Hong Sang-soo | South Korea |
| R.M.N. | — | Cristian Mungiu | Romania, France, Belgium |
| Sparta | — | Ulrich Seidl | Austria, France, Germany |
| Where | 何處 | Tsai Ming-liang | Taiwan |
| Where do you stand, Tsai Ming-Liang? | 身在何處 | Tsai Ming-liang | Taiwan |

#### Les Auteurs

The following films have been selected for screening in the Les Auteurs section:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Assault | Shturm | Adilkhan Yerzhanov | Kazakhstan, Russia |
| Drift | — | Anthony Chen | France, Greece, United Kingdom |
| Eastern Front | Shidniy front | Vitaly Mansky, Yevhen Titarenko | Latvia, Czech Republic, Ukraine, United States |
| Flotsam and Jetsam | 夏日天空的那匹紅馬 | Chang Tso-chi | Taiwan |
| Here | — | Bas Devos | Belgium |
| The Hotel | — | Wang Xiaoshuai | China, Thailand |
| The Natural History of Destruction | — | Sergei Loznitsa | Germany, Lithuania, The Netherlands |
| Music | — | Angela Schanelec | Germany, France, Serbia |
| Our Body | Notre Corps | Claire Simon | France |
| The Shadowless Tower | 白塔之光 | Zhang Lü | China |
| Tchaikovsky's Wife | Жена Чайковского | Kirill Serebrennikov | Russia, France, Switzerland |

### Global Vision

The following films have been selected for screening in the Global Vision section:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| The Blue Caftan | أزرق القفطان | Maryam Touzani | France, Morocco, Belgium, Denmark |
| Burning Days | Kurak Günler | Emin Alper | Turkey, France |
| The Dam | Le barrage | Ali Cherri | France, Sudan, Lebano, Germany, Serbia |
| Domingo and the Mist | Domingo y la niebla | Ariel Escalante Meza | Costa Rica |
| Falcon Lake | — | Charlotte Le Bon | Canada, France |
| The Happiest Man in the World | NajsreЌniot čovek na svetot | Teona Strugar Mitevska | North Macedonia, Belgium, Slovenia, Denmark |
| I Have Electric Dreams | Tengo sueños eléctricos | Valentina Maurel | Costa Rica, Belgium, France |
| Life | Жизнь | Emir Baigazin | Kazakhstan |
| Metronom | — | Alexandru Belc | Romania, France |
| The Mountain | La montagne | Thomas Salvador | France |
| Mountain Woman | 山女 | Takeshi Fukunaga | Japan |
| Seventeeners | Hadinelentu | Prithvi Konanur | India |
| Trenque Lauquen | — | Laura Citarella | Argentina, Germany |
| Victim | Oběť | Michal Blaško | Slovakia, Czech Republic, Germany |
| War Pony | — | Riley Keough, Gina Gammell | United States |
| White Paradise | Les Survivants | Guillaume Renusson | France |
| The Worst Ones | Les Pires | Lise Akoka, Romane Gueret | France |

### Nordic Lights

A new special section titled "Nordic Lights" was introduced in this edition of the festival, showcasing works from Nordic cinema:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Compartment No. 6 | Hytti nro 6 | Juho Kuosmanen | Finland, Germany, Estonia, Russia |
| Godland | Volaða land | Hlynur Pálmason | Iceland, Denmark, France, Sweden |
| The Great Silence | Den Store Stilhed | Katrine Brocks | Denmark |
| Sick of Myself | Syk pike | Kristoffer Borgli | Norway, Sweden |
| Unruly | Ustyrlig | Malou Reymann | Denmark |
| The Woodcutter Story | Metsurin tarina | Mikko Myllylahti | Finland, The Netherlands, Denmark, Germany |
| The Kingdom: Exodus (Episode 1–5) | Riget Exodus | Lars von Trier | Denmark |

### Fantastic Beats

The following films have been selected for screening in the Fantastic Beats section:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Marry My Dead Body | 關於我和鬼變成家人的那件事 | Cheng Wei-hao | Taiwan |
| Bad Education | 黑的教育 | Kai Ko | Taiwan |
| I Am What I Am | そばかす | Shinya Tamada | Japan |
| My Love Affair with Marriage | — | Signe Baumane | Latvia, United States, Luxembourg |
| Egoist | エゴイスト | Matsunaga Daishi | Japan |
| Do Unto Others | ロストケア | Tetsu Maeda | Japan |
| You & Me & Me | เธอกับฉันกับฉัน | Wanweaw Hongvivatana, Weawwan Hongvivatana | Thailand |

### Focus
#### The Complete Itami Juzo Directorial Retrospective

Digitally remastered 4K versions of all ten feature films made by Japanese filmmaker Juzo Itami were showcased at the festival:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Year of release | Production countrie(s) |
| The Funeral | お葬式 | Juzo Itami | 1984 | Japan |
| Tampopo | タンポポ | Juzo Itami | 1985 | Japan |
| A Taxing Woman | マルサの女 | Juzo Itami | 1987 | Japan |
| A Taxing Woman's Return | マルサの女2 | Juzo Itami | 1988 | Japan |
| A-Ge-Man: Tales of a Golden Geisha | あげまん | Juzo Itami | 1990 | Japan |
| Minbo | ミンボーの女 | Juzo Itami | 1992 | Japan |
| Daibyonin | 大病人 | Juzo Itami | 1993 | Japan |
| A Quiet Life | 静かな生活 | Juzo Itami | 1995 | Japan |
| Supermarket Woman | スーパーの女 | Juzo Itami | 1996 | Japan |
| Marutai | マルタイの女 | Juzo Itami | 1997 | Japan |

#### Jean-Luc Godard x Anna Karina: A Retrospective

To commemorate the passing of French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard, eight feature films made by Godard and his muse and ex-wife, Hanne Karin Bayer, were showcased at the festival:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Year of release | Production countrie(s) |
| The Little Soldier | Le petit soldat | Jean-Luc Godard | 1963 | France |
| A Woman Is a Woman | Une femme est une femme | Jean-Luc Godard | 1961 | France |
| My Life to Live | Vivre sa vie | Jean-Luc Godard | 1962 | France |
| Band of Outsiders | Bande à part | Jean-Luc Godard | 1964 | France |
| Alphaville | — | Jean-Luc Godard | 1965 | France |
| Pierrot le Fou | — | Jean-Luc Godard | 1965 | France |
| Made in U.S.A. | — | Jean-Luc Godard | 1966 | France |
| The Oldest Profession: Anticipation | — | Jean-Luc Godard | 1967 | France, Germany, Italy |