36th Hong Kong International Film Festival Line-up Announced!
Today we begin by profiling the big dogs - the gala premieres of this year's event, including the festivals opening and closing films.
Opening Film: LOVE IN THE BUFF (World Premiere)
Pang Ho Cheung's follow-up to the hugely successful LOVE IN A PUFF (34th HKIFF) continues to follow the romance of chain-smokers Jimmy (Shawn Yue) and Cherie (Miriam Yeung), or rather its demise as, six months on, both have moved to Beijing to follow their careers, and their relationship has suffered as a result.
Closing Film: WHITE DEER PLAIN (Asian Premiere)
Adapted from the explicit and highly controversial novel by director Wang Quan'an (APART TOGETHER), this epic tale of land battles between two feuding families in Shaanxi Province centres around the arrival of a beautiful young woman (Kitty Zhang), which only makes things worse.
BEAUTIFUL 2012 (World Premiere)
Filmmakers Ann Hui (A SIMPLE LIFE), Gu Changwei (LOVE FOR LIFE), Tsai Ming Liang (THE WAYWARD CLOUD) and Kim Tae Yong (LATE AUTUMN) each give their unique answer to the eternal question "What is beauty?" in this anthology film starring Yan Lianke, Lee Kang-Sheng, Gong Hyo jin and Francis Ng.
THE LOOK
Angelina Maccarone's cinematic biography of model-turned-actress Charlotte Rampling, the star of films like THE NIGHT PORTER, UNDER THE SAND and MELANCHOLIA reveals herself through a series of candid and exploratory conversations with friends and collaborators.
DECLARATION OF WAR
Set against the backdrop of the Iraqi War, this spirited quasi-musical from actress/director Valerie Donzelli somehow manages to take the incredible tragedy of a young couple who discover their newborn baby has a brain tumour and create one of the year's most charming films.
Awards Gala - 10+10
Taiwan has one of the most exciting film industries in Asia at the moment and in this collage of the country's diverse and talented pool of filmmakers, 20 local directors each have five minutes to express why they feel Taiwan is so unique. Contributors include Hou Hsiao Hsien, Wei Te Sheng, Arvin Chen, Chung Mong Hong and Sylvia Chang, to name but a few.
The Gala Presentation category also includes the following films:
COME AS YOU ARE - dir. Geoffrey Enthoven, Belgium (Asian Premiere)
TAKE THIS WALTZ - dir. Sarah Polley, Canada (Asian Premiere)
MY PIECE OF THE PIE - dir. Cedric Klapisch, France
ALMANYA: WELCOME TO GERMANY - dir. Yasemin Sandrelli, Germany
MONSIEUR LAZHAR - dir. Phillippe Falardeau, Canada
FOOTNOTE - dir. Joseph Cedar, Israel
13 ASSASSINS - dir. Miike Takashi, Japan
HARA-KIRI: DEATH OF A SAMURAI (3D) - dir. Miike Takashi, Japan
MISS BALA - dir. Gerardo Naranjo, Mexico
CORIOLANUS - dir. Ralph Fiennes, UK
THE DEEP BLUE SEA - dir. Terrence Davies, UK (Asian Premiere)
SHAME - dir. Steve McQueen, UK
TRISHNA - dir. Michael Winterbottom, UK
RESTLESS - Gus Van Sant, USA
There is loads more coverage still to come, and you can check out the full line-up online and book tickets starting Saturday 25 February by following the link below.
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