# 48th Hong Kong International Film Festival

The 48th Hong Kong International Film Festival (Chinese: 第48屆香港國際電影節) took place from 28 March to 8 April 2024. Fruit Chan was selected as the Filmmaker in Focus for this edition and masterclasses led by Víctor Erice and Martin McDonagh were featured.
The festival opened with the Hong Kong LGBTQ-themed drama All Shall Be Well by Ray Yeung and closed with the Japanese drama All The Long Nights by Miyake Sho. This year, 190 films from 62 countries were screened, including five world premieres, six international premieres, and sixty-four Asian premieres. Karena Lam was chosen as the new ambassador of the HKIFF starting this edition, succeeding Aaron Kwok, who served for the past five years.

## Background

The theme of the 48th Hong Kong International Film Festival is "A Portal to Another World". The festival's poster features a Hong Kong street with neon signs as the backdrop, while a brightly colored film screen is placed in the center, reflecting the theme of reimagining Hong Kong through a time portal. Karena Lam was named the new ambassador of the Hong Kong International Film Festival in January 2024 starting from this edition, succeeding Aaron Kwok, who served for the past five years. Lam also served as one of the jurors for the Firebird Awards. She is the second woman to hold this position and the first female ambassador in over a decade (since Miriam Yeung in 2011), and she expressed a commitment to advocating for women's rights in the film industry, as well as promoting Hong Kong's cultural scene, which has faced challenges since the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of streaming services.
Fruit Chan was announced as the Filmmaker in Focus for the festival on 2 February 2024. Albert Lee, the executive director of the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society, explained that Chan was chosen for his creative and pioneering vision in Hong Kong genre filmmaking. British-Irish filmmaker Martin McDonagh and Spanish director Víctor Erice were also announced as features in the Masterclass section later that month, and both would be presenting at the festival in person. A full lineup and the titles of the competitive sections were revealed on 8 March. Other notable guests at the festival included Iranian actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Japanese musician Eiko Ishibashi, American cartoonist Bill Plympton, Indian documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan, Taiwanese filmmaker Tsai Ming-liang, Japanese filmmakers Kazuhiro Soda, Shusuke Kaneko, and Miyake Sho, as well as Japanese actors Masaki Okada and Kaya Kiyohara, and Taiwanese actor Greg Hsu. Ishibashi also gave a live performance on 30 March.
The film festival opened on 28 March 2024 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre with the Hong Kong LGBTQ-themed drama All Shall Be Well, directed by Ray Yeung. Events took place at various venues, including the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong City Hall, M+, iSQUARE, Times Square, and Elements. A total of 190 films from 62 countries were screened, featuring five world premieres, six international premieres, and sixty-four Asian premieres. Ticket prices ranged from $55 HKD for weekday matinee screenings to $5,000 HKD for a VIP pass to the festival. The film festival was part of the Entertainment Expo Hong Kong, which celebrated its 20th anniversary, featuring events such as the 17th Asian Film Awards and the 42nd Hong Kong Film Awards taking place concurrently. A new section, the CAA China Genre Initiative Projects, was added to the Asia Financing Forum, Hong Kong International Film Festival's project market.
The Malaysian-Singaporean-Taiwanese historical drama Snow in Midsummer by Chong Keat Aun won the Firebird Award for the Young Cinema Competition (Chinese-language), while the Danish-Swedish psychological thriller Sons by Gustav Möller won the Firebird Award for the Young Cinema Competition (World). The Austrian documentary Favoriten by Ruth Beckermann received the Firebird Award for Documentary Competition. The Taiwanese film A Journey in Spring by Wang Ping-wen and Peng Tsz-hui won the FIPRESCI Prize. The festival closed with the Japanese drama All The Long Nights by Miyake Sho on 8 April.

## Jury

The jury of the Firebird Awards comprises:

### Young Cinema Competition (Chinese-language)

* Fruit Chan, Hong Kong filmmaker
* Karena Lam, Hong Kong actress
* Zhang Xianmin, Chinese film scholar and artistic director

### Young Cinema Competition (World)

* Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Iranian actress
* Lila Avilés, Mexican filmmaker
* Derek Tsang, Hong Kong filmmaker
* Carlo Chatrian, former director of the Locarno Film Festival and Berlin International Film Festival

### Documentary Competition

* Lea Glob, Danish documentary filmmaker
* Du Haibin, Chinese documentary filmmaker
* Chen Wanling, former programme director of the Taiwan International Documentary Festival

## Program sections
### Opening and closing films

The following films were selected as the opening and closing features of the film festival, marking the Asian premiere of both:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Opening film ||||
| All Shall Be Well | 從今以後 | Ray Yeung | Hong Kong |
| Closing film ||||
| All The Long Nights | 夜明けのすべて | Miyake Sho | Japan |

### Gala Presentation

The following films have been selected for screening in the Gala Presentation section, marking the world premiere of Ho Miu Ki's Love Lies and the Asian premiere of Ryusuke Hamaguchi's Gift:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Exhuma | 파묘 | Jang Jae-hyun | Korea |
| Gift | ギフト | Ryusuke Hamaguchi | Japan |
| Love Lies | 我談的那場戀愛 | Ho Miu Ki | Hong Kong |
| The Successor | Le Successeur | Xavier Legrand | France, Belgium, Canada |

### Cinephile Paradise

The following films have been selected for screening in the Cinephile Paradise section:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| August My Heaven / Chime | オーガスト・マイ・ヘヴン / Chime | Kudo Riho, Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Japan |
| The Beast | La Bête | Bertrand Bonello | France, Canada |
| Dahomey | — | Mati Diop | France, Senegal, Benin |
| The Dead Don't Hurt | — | Viggo Mortensen | Canada, Mexico, Denmark |
| Dear Jassi | — | Tarsem Singh | India, Canada, United States |
| Dying | Sterben | Matthias Glasner | Germany |
| Io capitano | — | Matteo Garrone | Italy, Belgium, France |
| Old Fox | 老狐狸 | Hsiao Ya-chuan | Taiwan |
| Out of Season | Hors-saison | Stéphane Brizé | France |
| The Promised Land | Bastarden | Nikolaj Arcel | Denmark, Germany, Sweden |
| Seven Veils | — | Atom Egoyan | Canada |
| Tatami | — | Guy Nattiv, Zar Amir Ebrahimi | Georgia, United States |

### 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. Snow in Midsummer emerged as the winner, with Liang Ming named Best Director for Carefree Days, Lyu Xingchen named Best Actress for her performance in Carefree Days, and Jason King named Best Actor for his role in A Journey in Spring.
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Borrowed Time | 人海同遊 | Choy Ji | China |
| Brief History of a Family | 家庭簡史 | Lin Jianjie | China, France, Denmark, Qatar |
| Carefree Days | 逍遙．遊 | Liang Ming | China |
| Fresh Off Markham | 敗走麥城 | Kurt Yuen, Cyrus Lo, Trevor Choi | China, Canada |
| A Journey in Spring | 春行 | Wang Ping-Wen, Peng Tzu-Hui | China |
| Snow in Midsummer | 五月雪 | Chong Keat Aun | Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan |
| Some Rain Must Fall | 空房間裏的女人 | Qiu Yang | China |
| A Song Sung Blue | 小白船 | Geng Zihan | China |

#### Young Cinema Competition (World)

The following films were selected to compete in the Young Cinema Competition (World) at the Firebird Awards. Sons emerged as the winner, with Meryam Joobeur named Best Director for Who Do I Belong To, Minna Wündrich named Best Actress for her performance in Ivo, and Vangelis Mourikis named Best Actor for his role in Arcadia. A special mention was given to Nelson Carlo de los Santos Arias' Pepe.
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Arcadia | — | Yorgos Zois | Greece |
| Arni | — | Dorka Vermes | Hungary |
| Ivo | — | Eva Trobisch | Germany |
| Pepe | — | Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias | Dominican Republic, Namibia, Germany, France |
| Sons | Vogter | Gustav Möller | Denmark, Sweden |
| Sujo | — | Astrid Rondero, Fernanda Valadez | Mexico, France, United States |
| The Tenants | 세입자 | Yoon Eun-kyoung | South Korea |
| Who Do I Belong To | ماء العين | Meryam Joobeur | Tunisia, France, Canada |

#### Documentary Competition

The following films were selected to compete in the Young Cinema Competition (Documentary) at the Firebird Awards. Favoriten was unanimously chosen as the winner by the jury, while Wong Siu-pong received the jury prize for his work Obedience.
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Architecton | — | Viktor Kossakovsky | Germany, France |
| At Averroès & Rosa Parks | Averroès & Rosa Parks | Nicolas Philibert | France |
| Black Box Diaries | — | Shiori Itō | Japan |
| Black Snow | — | Alina Simone | United States |
| Favoriten | — | Ruth Beckermann | Austria |
| Hollywoodgate | — | Ibrahim Nash’at | Germany, United States |
| Intercepted | — | Oksana Karpovych | Canada, France, Ukraine |
| Obedience | 十方之地 | Wong Siu-pong | Hong Kong |

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

Fruit Chan was announced to be the Filmmaker in Focus for the film festival on 2 February 2024, featuring ten of his previous works. The Longest Summer was removed from the list on 8 March, with the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society stating that it was unable to locate suitable copies for screening, and Chan's 2019 film The Abortionist was presented in its place. However, Ming Pao noted that the Society had previously screened The Longest Summer in 2017 and 2021, while filmmaker Tin Kai-man also expressed confusion over the decision, explaining that copies of all Hong Kong films should be well-preserved in the Hong Kong Film Archive. Chan described the decision as "pitiful", but noted that those interested in watching would find a way to do so on their own.
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Year of release | Production countrie(s) |
| Made in Hong Kong | 香港製造 | Fruit Chan | 1997 | Hong Kong |
| The Longest Summer | 去年煙花特別多 | Fruit Chan | 1998 | Hong Kong |
| Little Cheung | 細路祥 | Fruit Chan | 1999 | Hong Kong |
| Durian Durian | 榴槤飄飄 | Fruit Chan | 2000 | Hong Kong |
| Hollywood Hong Kong | 香港有個荷里活 | Fruit Chan | 2001 | Hong Kong |
| Public Toilet | 人民公廁 | Fruit Chan | 2002 | Hong Kong |
| Dumplings | 餃子 | Fruit Chan | 2004 | Hong Kong |
| The Midnight After | 那夜凌晨，我坐上了旺角開往大埔的紅VAN | Fruit Chan | 2014 | Hong Kong |
| My City | 我城 | Fruit Chan | 2015 | Hong Kong |
| Three Husbands | 三夫 | Fruit Chan | 2018 | Hong Kong |
| The Abortionist | 墮胎師 | Fruit Chan | 2019 | Hong Kong |

#### Chinese-language Restored Classics

Six restored contemporary classics by Chinese filmmakers were showcased at the film festival:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Year of release | Production countrie(s) |
| Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind | 第一類型危險 | Tsui Hark | 1980 | Hong Kong |
| Old Well | 老井 | Wu Tianming | 1987 | China |
| Dislocation | 錯位 | Huang Jianxin | 1986 | China |
| The Story of Qiu Ju | 秋菊打官司 | Zhang Yimou | 1992 | China |
| Mahjong | 麻將 | Edward Yang | 1996 | Taiwan |
| The Wayward Cloud | 天邊一朵雲 | Tsai Ming-liang | 2005 | Taiwan |

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

The following films were selected for screening in the Masterclass section:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Abiding Nowhere | 無所住 | Tsai Ming-liang | United States, Taiwan |
| Anselm | Anselm – Das Rauschen der Zeit | Wim Wenders | Germany |
| Essential Truths of the Lake | — | Lav Diaz | Philippines, France, Portugal, Singapore |
| Fallen Leaves | Kuolleet lehdet | Aki Kaurismäki | Finland, Germany |
| Green Border | Zielona granica | Agnieszka Holland | Poland, Czech Republic, France, Belgium |
| Kidnapped | Rapito | Marco Bellocchio | Italy, France, Germany |
| Kubi | 首 | Takeshi Kitano | Japan |
| Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros | — | Frederick Wiseman | United States |
| The Old Oak | — | Ken Loach | United Kingdom |
| Socialist Realism | El Realismo Socialista | Raúl Ruiz, Valeria Sarmiento | Chile |
| A Traveler's Needs | 여행자의 필요 | Hong Sang-soo | South Korea |
| Youth (Spring) | 青春 (春) | Wang Bing | France, Luxembourg, Netherlands |

#### Víctor Erice: The Returning Gaze

Spanish director Víctor Erice was selected as the featured honoree for the festival's Masterclass tribute program, showcasing all four of his feature films throughout his filmmaking career:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Year of release | Production countrie(s) |
| The Spirit of the Beehive | El espíritu de la colmena | Víctor Erice | 1973 | Spain |
| El Sur | — | Víctor Erice | 1983 | Spain, France |
| The Quince Tree Sun | El sol del membrillo | Víctor Erice | 1992 | Spain |
| Close Your Eyes | Cerrar los ojos | Víctor Erice | 2023 | Spain, France |

#### Martin McDonagh: Theatre of Dark Tales

British-Irish filmmaker Martin McDonagh was announced to lead a masterclass and career retrospective in the Masterclass section on 29 February 2024, featuring all five of his feature films:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Year of release | Production countrie(s) |
| Six Shooter | — | Martin McDonagh | 2004 | United Kingdom, Ireland |
| In Bruges | — | Martin McDonagh | 2008 | United Kingdom, United States |
| Seven Psychopaths | — | Martin McDonagh | 2012 | United Kingdom, United States |
| Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | — | Martin McDonagh | 2017 | United Kingdom, United States |
| The Banshees of Inisherin | — | Martin McDonagh | 2022 | United Kingdom, United States |

#### Les Auteurs

The following films have been selected for screening in the Les Auteurs section:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| The Cats of Gokugu Shrine | 五香宮の猫 | Kazuhiro Soda | Japan |
| The Clinic | Sei Khen | Midi Z | Myanmar |
| Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World | Nu aștepta prea mult de la sfârșitul lumii | Radu Jude | Romania, Luxembourg, Croatia, France |
| Eureka | — | Lisandro Alonso | France, Germany, Portugal, Mexico, Argentina |
| Mademoiselle Kenopsia | — | Denis Côté | Canada |
| Memory | — | Michel Franco | United States |
| Priscilla | — | Sofia Coppola | United States |
| Ricardo and Painting | — | Barbet Schroeder | France |
| Shadow of Fire | ほかげ | Shinya Tsukamoto | Japan |
| A Silence | Un Silence | Joachim Lafosse | Belgium, France, Luxembourg |
| Snow Leopard | 雪豹 | Pema Tseden | China |
| The World is Family | Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam | Anand Patwardhan | India |

### Global Vision

The following films have been selected for screening in the Global Vision section:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Asia ||||
| Following the Sound | 彼方のうた | Sugita Kyoshi | Japan |
| If Only I Could Hibernate | Баавгай болохсон | Zoljargal Purevdash | Mongolia |
| Inshallah a Boy | إن شاء الله ولد | Amjad Al Rasheed | Jordan, France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt |
| Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell | Bên trong vỏ kén vàng | Phạm Thiên Ân | Vietnam, Singapore, France, Spain |
| Oasis of Now | — | Chia Chee Sum | Malaysia, Singapore, France |
| Sunday | Yakshanba | Shokir Kholikov | Uzbekistan |
| Terrestrial Verses | آیه های زمینی | Ali Asgari, Alireza Khatami | Iran |
| America ||||
| Bad Actor | Un Actor Malo | Jorge Cuchí | Mexico |
| The Delinquents | Los delincuentes | Rodrigo Moreno | Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Luxembourg |
| Malu | — | Pedro Freire | Brazil |
| The Settlers | Los colonos | Felipe Gálvez Haberle | Chile, Argentina, United Kingdom |
| Solo | — | Sophie Dupuis | Canada |
| Europe ||||
| All to Play For | Rien à perdre | Delphine Deloget | France, Belgium |
| Blaga's Lessons | Уроците на Блага | Stephan Komandarev | Bulgaria, Germany |
| Explanation for Everything | Magyarázat mindenre | Gábor Reisz | Hungary, Slovakia |
| Les Indésirables | Bâtiment 5 | Ladj Ly | France |
| Oceania and Africa ||||
| Banel & Adama | Banel et Adama | Ramata-Toulaye Sy | France, Mali, Senegal |
| Shayda | — | Noora Niasari | Australia |

### Fantastic Beats

The following films have been selected for screening in the Fantastic Beats section:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| 18×2 Beyond Youthful Days | 青春18×2 通往有你的旅程 | Michihito Fujii | Taiwan, Japan |
| Masked Hearts | 愛にイナズマ | Yuya Ishii | Japan |
| Gold Boy | ゴールド・ボーイ | Shusuke Kaneko | Japan |
| How to Have Sex | — | Molly Manning Walker | United Kingdom, Greece, Belgium |
| Between the White Key and the Black Key | 白鍵と黒鍵の間に | Masanori Tominaga | Japan |
| 52-Hertz Whales | 52ヘルツのクジラたち | Izuru Narushima | Japan |
| RedLife | — | Ekalak Klunson | Thailand |

### Restored Classics

Eight restored film classics from various eras and regions were selected for showcase at the festival:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Year of release | Production countrie(s) |
| Kohlhiesel's Daughters | Kohlhiesels Töchter | Ernst Lubitsch | 1920 | Germany |
| Fear and Desire | — | Stanley Kubrick | 1952 | United States |
| Il Grido | — | Michelangelo Antonioni | 1957 | Italy |
| L'Amour fou | — | Jacques Rivette | 1969 | France |
| The Dupes | المخدوعون | Tewfik Saleh | 1973 | Syria |
| Abraham's Valley | Vale Abraão | Manoel de Oliveira | 1993 | Portugal, France, Switzerland |
| Deep Crimson (Director's cut) | Profundo Carmesí | Arturo Ripstein | 1996 | Mexico, Spain, France |
| The Pianist | — | Roman Polanski | 2002 | France, Germany, Poland, United Kingdom |

### Focus

Three feature films and a short film directed by French filmmaker Jean Eustache were selected for screening in the Focus section:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Year of release | Production countrie(s) |
| The Mother and the Whore | La maman et la putain | Jean Eustache | 1973 | France |
| My Little Loves | Mes Petites Amoureuses | Jean Eustache | 1974 | France |
| A Dirty Story | Une sale histoire | Jean Eustache | 1977 | France |
| The Photos of Alix | Les photos d'Alix | Jean Eustache | 1980 | France |