Taste the spirit of local film-making
Mega-budget Hollywood blockbusters are not the only options for movie-goers this summer. The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) is offering a free taste of the adventurous spirit of local film-makers later this month.
The HKAPA's School of Film and Television on June 25 will hold two free public screenings of five short films - each about 20 to 40 minutes long with English subtitles - made by this year's graduates. Tickets will be handed out at the Academy's box office 30 minutes before the screenings, scheduled for 2.30pm and 7.30pm.
'The students are aware that this is the end of a life stage, and they want to look back at the past,' said veteran film critic Shu Kei, who is a senior lecturer of film and television directing at the school.
The themes - although often nostalgic or borrowed from mainstream cinema - are expressed in different ways. The students tackled a wide variety of genres ranging from surreal action and comedy to family drama.
'I threw in elements that have influenced me during my teenage days, such as Gu-long (a famous martial arts novelist), assassin movies and female action films,' said Terry Cheung Yuk-kin, 24, who directed Battle with Honour and Humanity. The fun action film transplants Gu-long's characters into a contemporary Hong Kong setting.
Contrasting Cheung's cult style is Thomas Lee Chi-wai's Our Steps (pictured) a film set in the 1970s. It is about a son who misunderstands his hardworking father.
'The '70s was an uplifting era. I think the foundation of Hong Kong was built on the hard work of the people during that period,' said Lee, 24. 'I also want to show that what you can see may not be the whole picture of truth.'
In addition to action and drama, humour is also in rich supply. Lau Wing-tai's When Shorts Get Long reflects on growth. The film, about secondary school life in the early 1990s, is presented in a comedic fashion.
'These are memories that worth recalling and treasuring,' said Lau, 26. 'The funniest period is the time between Form Three and Four. This is the time when you don't have a particular world view. The values that you adopted as a kid collapse, while the values of adulthood have yet to be developed.'
The other two films that will be shown in the screenings are The Uniform, a cop movie about two patrol officers in Wan Chai, and The Taste of the Pineapple Bun which was adapted from a short story by novelist Chan-wai.
The students agreed that movie-making is all about determination and, above all, teamwork.
It 'is genuinely a team effort', said Cheung. 'Film-making is a very idealistic job. It is about a bunch of people united together to realise a crazy dream.'
The film-makers will attend the screenings and share their experiences with the audiences.
