Canadian curator rescues film posters from HK glory days for show

One man's junk is another's treasure. That's how Canadian film programmer Colin Geddes put together an exhibition of 50 rare Hong Kong kung fu and gangster movie posters at the Quebec Cinematheque in Montreal. Although Hong Kong cinema is still in the dumps, some of its past glory was rescued from the bin to become a popular attraction.

'Most of the collection came from the garbage when some Chinatown cinemas in Toronto closed,' Geddes, a programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival, said. 'One summer, there was a pile of large manila envelopes thrown in a heap into a gutter, and in that pile I found 14 pristine posters for The 36th Chamber of Shaolin.'

As luck would have it, Shaw Brothers Studio legend Gordon Liu Chia-hui (pictured with Geddes) just happened to be in Montreal last week for a screening of Disciples of the 36 Chambers, and Geddes convinced him to stick around for the poster exhibition's opening, too.

'Gordon was a delight, a super nice guy. He posed for lots of photos with fans and was very gracious,' Geddes said.

In fact, he even talked Liu into hanging around a Canadian city in another province for a different event.

'He was heading to Toronto the next day to visit relatives, and he agreed to stay for a few extra days there too to attend a screening of Heroes Of The East (Shaws' classic featuring Liu) that I am organising.'