Passing the screen test - the film folks' favourites

Ann Hui On-wah, director

My favourite film of 2011: Warriors of the Rainbow - Seediq Bale. It's a courageous undertaking for Wei Te-sheng whose hands were full of elements easily considered to be box office poison. It's about rough indigenous tribes, speaking in their native tongue, and he's delivered something which anyone can empathise with. The film's promotional campaign is also effective. A revelation.

My most memorable moment of 2011: seeing audiences giving my film, A Simple Life, a standing ovation for several minutes, after its premiere at the Venice Film Festival. It's something I've never experienced before, and it seems so surreal. It's probably the highlight of my life.

Roger Garcia, executive director of the Hong Kong International Film Festival

My favourite films of 2011: J.J. Abrams' Super 8 - geeks gone wild; a guerilla film made on a studio budget. Marlon Rivera's The Woman in The Septic Tank - a satire on cultural colonisation; a guerilla film making studio-sized box office in the Philippines.

My most memorable moment of 2001: at a party, singing happy birthday to German filmmaker Werner Herzog - while standing next to him.

Paul Fonoroff, film critic