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Hong Kong culture
Hong KongSociety

Hong Kong movie brings ‘City of Darkness’ back into light at Cannes Film Festival, with makers hoping to boost tourism

  • Soi Cheang Pou-soi’s Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In and its depiction of historic Kowloon Walled City earn standing ovation at screening in Cannes
  • Filmmakers say they hope viewers can ‘feel our love for Hong Kong’ and that movie can help to promote local tourism trade

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A still from Soi Cheang’s Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, which was selected for a midnight screening at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Photo: Media Asia Distribution
Jeffie Lam

A Hong Kong martial arts film featuring the Kowloon Walled City has made a splash at the Cannes Film Festival after its screening won a standing ovation, while its makers have said they hope the movie can boost local tourism.

The Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In was met with cheers and applause that lasted for minutes after award-winning Soi Cheang Pou-soi’s mega-budget production played at the event’s Midnight Screenings section on Thursday night in Cannes.

“The fact that we can put together so many talented Hong Kong artists for this Hong Kong story is a very meaningful and magnificent thing to me,” Cheang said afterwards, expressing his gratitude to the festival for screening the local action film.

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“I hope overseas audiences will also feel our love for Hong Kong.”

Louis Koo Tin-lok, who played one of the film’s protagonists, said the movie brought back to life the now-demolished Kowloon Walled City and hoped it could give the local tourism scene a positive jolt.
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“I hope this movie can introduce the Kowloon Walled City to tourists that once stood there,” he said.

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