Works by established old masters and audacious newcomers feature locations from China's extreme northeast to Iraq
The upcoming Hong Kong Asian Film Festival (HKAFF) will showcase 80 films from 15 Asian places, many of which are competition entries at international film festivals.
Launched since 2003, the annual festival is jointly organised by Broadway Cinematheque and local independent collective Ying E-Chi.
Featuring animation shorts, documentaries and feature-length movies, many of the films this year are based on the lives and dreams of young people in Asia.
An example is The Exam from China. Based on a true story, the film follows the struggle of a teacher in a remote village in Heilongjiang province to teach a group of poor youngsters. Denied even the most basic facilities at schools, the kids have to make do with ramshackle classrooms, worn-out books and creaking desks and chairs. Portraying the challenges that economically disadvantaged students face in rural China every day, the film's message is: don't take your studies for granted.
Showing unique local ways of life, foreign films can expand the horizons of audience.
'Films from different countries, such as Iraq and India, will be shown this year. By sourcing movies from around Asia, we can present to the audience different ways of lives of Asian people,' said Gary Mak Sing-hei, director of Broadway Cinematheque.
