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Oscar nominees and Berlinale winners at 37th HKIFF
( 繁 | 简 )Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 3:03AM / Standard Entry
Oscar nominees and Berlinale winners at 37th HKIFF! One day ahead of unveiling its full line-up, the 37th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) announced today an exciting inclusion of two nominees for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars this year, together with eight winners fresh from the 63rd Berlin Film Festival, in its 17-day programme that runs from 17 March – 2 April 2013.
Nominees for Best Foreign Language Film of the 85th Academy Awards: 
No
Dir: Pablo Larrain Chile/USA 2012 117min
Cast: Gael Garcia Bernal, Alfredo Castro, Antonia Zegers
If Tony Manero (33rd HKIFF) and Post Mortem (35th HKIFF) didn’t already demonstrate director Pablo Larrain’s preoccupation with the effect of Pinochet’s regime, then this year’s Oscar Best Foreign Film nominee No cements it with one of the smartest political thrillers in years. Shot on u-matic tape in 4:3 aspect ratio for a vintage ‘80s look, No follows René, an advertising executive, who must use his product-selling savvy to sell a democracy campaign versus Pinochet’s dictatorship. Not only is society at stake – so are the lives of René and his family.
War Witch
Dir: Kim Nguyen Canada 2012 90 min
Cast: Rachel Mwanza, Alain Bastien, Serge Kanyianda
Grounded by Rachel Mwanza’s Berlin Silver Bear-winning performance, this year’s nominee for Best Foreign Film Oscar War Witch is the harrowing yet poignantly told account of a child soldier in a central African country. Abducted from her village, 12-year-old Komona is forced to fight for a rebel group led by the charismatic Great Tiger. Due to her ability to see ghosts, she is hailed as a sorceress...until the day she escapes with the albino boy Magician. An extraordinary coming-of-age film that is never exploitative despite its tough subject matter.Winners fresh from the 63th Berlin Film Festival: 
An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker
Dir: Danis Tanovic Bosnia-Herzegovina/France/
Slovenia 2013 75min
Cast: Senada Alimanovic, Nazif Mujic, Sandra Mujic
Marking a change for social realism, this fifth feature from Danis Tanovic (No Man’s Land, 26th HKIFF) employs non-professionals to deliver a powerfully authentic depiction of one Roma family’s plight. The title suggests the protagonist’s circumstances, but it is Senada, the iron picker’s wife, who must struggle against her dark fate. Heavily pregnant with her third child, Senada one day feels a sharp pain in her abdomen. Thus begins the race against time to save Senada’s life despite discrimination and exorbitant hospital costs.
Grand Jury Prize
Silver Bear for Best Actor
Special Mention by the Ecumenical Jury
In the Name of
Dir: Malgoska Szumowska Poland 2013 96min
Cast: Andrzej Chyra, Mateusz Kosciukiewicz,
Maja Ostaszewska
In one small Polish town, teenage delinquents attend a community center constructed by the Catholics headed by Father Adam. Over time, Adam has built a foundation of trust with these troubled teens as well as the town’s community. But that fragile trust threatens to collapse with the arrival of two boys: a sullen, rural outcast and a goldenhaired troublemaker. Adam’s self-imposed abstinence will soon undergo its greatest test. Bound to create controversy, Malgoska Szumowska’s provocative film features plenty of striking imagery from Christ’s Passion.
Teddy Award for Best Feature
Siegessäule Readers' Jury Award
The Act of Killing
Dir: Joshua Oppenheimer Denmark/Norway/UK
2012 158min
Between 1965-1966, more that 500,000 people were purged under the guise of an anti-communist push by the Indonesian army. This episode is mostly skipped over in Indonesian history books because “to the victor goes spoils”– the perpetrators were never charged, and in fact, many of them became powerful leaders. One of them is Anwar, the animated and prideful protagonist who re-enacts how he tortured and killed his victims in this chilling, controversial and inventive documentary. Executive produced by Werner Herzog and Errol Morris. Best Documentary, CPH:DOX.
Ecumenical Jury Prize
Audience Award
Closed Curtain
Dir: Jafar Panahi, Kamboziya Partovi Iran 2013 106min
Cast: Kamboziya Partovi, Maryam Moghadam,
Jafar Panahi, Hadi Saeedi
After the critically acclaimed This Is Not a Film (36th HKIFF), Jafar Panahi co-directs another illegally made film together with his Venice Golden Lion winner The Circle co-scribe. Like Panahi’s continuing house arrest, the two protagonists in Closed Curtain are barricaded inside. The man, a screenwriter, must hide his dog because Islamic law deems the pet to be unclean. The young woman is on the run after participating in an illicit party on the Caspian Sea. Though they both live in the secluded villa, they eye each other suspiciously.
Silver Bear for Best Script
Circles
Dir: Srdan Golubovic Serbia/Germany/France
2013 112min
Cast: Vuk Kostic, Nebojsa Glogovac, Aleksandar Bercek
An act of senseless violence during the height of the Bosnian war ripples through the lives of five people some twelve years later in this resonant and tightly woven morality tale. Back in Bosnia, an old man is building a church but purposefully shoos away a young worker. At the same time, a surgeon in Belgrade faces tough choices when he encounters an accident victim. And in Germany, a Muslim immigrant must help a woman and her son from an abusive spouse. Special Jury Prize, Sundance World Cinema Competition.
Ecumenical Jury Prize
In Bloom
Dir: N.Ekvtimishvili, S.Gross Georgia 2012 95min
Cast: Lika Babluani, Mariam Bokeria
In Bloom revolves around friends Eka and Natia, two young women in their mid-teens navigating oppressive familial expectations, male violence and female identity in Tbilisi in the years following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Alone with her mother and with her father sitting in prison, Eka deals with local bullies while Natia finds herself forced into a marriage rooted in kidnapping. Their friendship is tested when Natia’s thug husband kills a former admirer. A coming-of-age story for both the young women and the nation.
C.I.C.A.E. Prize (International Confederation of Art Cinemas)
Roots
Dir: Ikeya Kaoru Japan 2012 118min
Abject tragedy has dominated films about the March 11th earthquake and tsunami, but Roots documents one elderly man’s happy ending. Seventy-seven year old lumberman Sato Naoshi, like many, lost his Iwate home and his son to the catastrophic disaster but has no intention of abandoning his ancestral home. With the energy of men half his age, Naoshi lives off rice he cultivates himself and cuts his own timber, demonstrating a respect for his home that transcends simple familiarity. Watching this inspiring man realise his dream confirms the idea that rebirth is indeed possible.
Special Mention by the Ecumenical Jury
Pluto
Dir: Shin Su-won South Korea 2012 114min
Cast: David Lee, Sung June, Cho Sung-ha
In Pluto, the best and brightest students in Korea’s most prestigious high schools are prepared to go to terrible extremes to ensure entry into the country’s best universities. Beginning with ace science student June’s transfer into an elite prep school, a thriller about the death of the student he replaced slowly unfolds in all its cutthroat inhumanity. Perverse and disturbing, Pluto takes its premise to savage new heights to make its razorsharp point about the high stakes game of privilege that modern education has become.
Special Mention by the Youth Jury in the competition Generation 14plusShare 
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Hong Kong Philharmonic supports The 37th HKIFF in an orchestral celebration of the films of Leslie Cheung
( 繁 | 简 )Friday, Feb 15, 2013 1:09PM / Standard Entry
A versatile actor with an extraordinary range, Leslie Cheung was a rare talent that shone equally brightly in films and music.
On the 10th anniversary of his death, the Hong Kong Philharmonic offers a musical salute to this cultural icon. Our celebration of the life and work of this legend of the Hong Kong film world includes a special commission from American composer Eli Marshall for Ashes of Time (commissioned by The Octavian Society Limited), as well as music from films in which Cheung memorably starred: Days of Being Wild, Farewell My Concubine and the distinctive strains of Piazzolla’s Tango music as used in the soundtrack to Happy Together. Cheung responded with unique genius to the musical gifts of these composers, evoking the spirit, charm and romance of some of his finest films.
Conductor: Gerard Salonga Sheng: Wu Tong Date: 19 & 20 March 2013 (Tue & Wed)
Time: 8 pm
Venue: Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall
Ticket price: $480 $320 $220 $160Share
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Guilty pleasures: Animation for Kids and Adults at 37th HKIFF / 11th HAF's Filmmakers Share Their Thoughts
Friday, Feb 8, 2013 12:00PM / Standard Entry
Guilty pleasures: Animation for Kids and Adults at 37th HKIFF Walt Disney once said, "Animation can explain whatever the mind of man can conceive."
Fans of animation can now witness the expressive potential of this ever popular genre at the 37th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF), which will feature two special compilations, "World Animation for All" and "World Animation for Adults", as well as a mesmerizing showcase of the works of young and edgy Chinese animator Xun Sun, during its 17-day programme from 17 March – 2 April 2013.
World Animation for All
Going to the movies is a beloved family pastime for many, and no other choice of film would be more suitable than a mix of animated shorts that is both educational and entertaining. Ideal for the young and old, "World Animation for All" brings a total of seven charming tales from Canada, Denmark, Germany and The Netherlands among other places, including: A Sea Turtle Story, an exquisite stop-motion chronicle of the life cycle of an adorable sea turtle in a perilous world filled with predators; and La Détente, where a French soldier, paralysed with fear in a trench during the First World War, disconnects his mind from reality and escapes to a world where wars are fought by toys.
World Animation for Adults
While kids will revel in the endless joy of "World Animation for All", the highly anticipated "World Animation for Adults" ventures into areas that are usually off-limits in mainstream animation, full of symbolic meanings about eroticism, psychology and violence. From a blindfolded man and woman in Love Games – a perverse and eerie story from South Korea, to the French production Tram – with its female driver indulging in the steamiest fantasies about her be-suited passengers on a humdrum day, this compilation serves up all the naughtiest and wittiest fun animation can offer.
Xun Sun Programme
The festival will also feature a programme of shorts by Chinese visual artist Xun Sun, who rose to fame with his signature monochromatic, hand drawn style, exploring the schism between history and myth, past and present in a "new" but disillusioned China. The 37th HKIFF will present his early work, the fleeting Chinese Words: War, where characters truly become their meanings; the discordant, surreal woodcut animation, Some Actions Which Haven't Been Defined Yet In the Revolution; the expressionistic 21G, where the world is on the verge of collapse; the reality-challenging Mythos and Requiem; the romantic Beyond-ism; and the absurdist utopia of Clown's Revolution.The 37th HKIFF will run from 17 March – 2 April 2013. Stay tuned for more updates on our programme and events! 
11th HAF's Filmmakers Share Their Thoughts The 11th Hong Kong - Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) asked the filmmakers of the 2013 HAF projects and 2nd Annual HAF/Fox Chinese Film Development Award finalists to share their thoughts on their projects being selected as finalists, what they hope to achieve at the forum, their impressions of the Hong Kong film industry, their favourite and least favourite part of the filmmaking process, etc. They came back with some very candid and interesting answers.
Please visit our HAF's official website, Facebook Fan Page and Weibo to get to know our shortlisted filmmakers.
Online Guest Registration System Are Available The 11th HAF will take place from 18-20 March at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Film financiers, investors and participants can now register online to attend the 11th HAF www.haf.org.hk/
guestregistration . Enjoy early bird discount if register on or before 28 February 2013. Eligible applicants can schedule meetings with various project representatives during the three-day forum.
Visit www.haf.org.hk for more information.Share
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First Collaboration of the 7th Asian Film Awards with Yahoo! Movies for People’s Choice Awards
( 繁 | 简 )Wednesday, Feb 6, 2013 5:30PM / Standard Entry / 7th Asian Film Awards
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The 7th Asian Film Awards Recognise Michelle YEOH Choo-Kheng with Excellence in Asian Cinema Award
( 繁 | 简 )Friday, Feb 1, 2013 5:17PM / Standard Entry / 7th Asian Film Awards
Note: Special thanks go to Photographer Paul TSANG for the photo of Michelle YEOH
Hong Kong, 31 January 2013 – The Hong Kong International Film Festival Society (HKIFFS) today announced renowned actress Michelle YEOH as the recipient of its Excellence in Asian Cinema Award to be presented at the Asian Film Awards (AFA) Presentation Ceremony on 18 March 2013 in Hong Kong. Michelle will attend the Presentation Ceremony to receive the Award. Previous special award winners at the AFA who have been recognised for their contribution to Asian cinema include renowned Director ZHANG Yimou, and the Busan International Film Festival Founding Director KIM Dong-ho. The Excellence in Asian Cinema Award aims to recognise and highlight outstanding talent and affirm their life long achievements and contributions to the Asian film industry.
Recently, Michelle has been actively promoting her latest production, a documentary entitled PAD YATRA: A Green Odyssey. Honoured to have received the award, she said, “Asian films and film professionals are full of energy and imagination. In fact, Asia itself is a place that breeds diversity and creativity. The region has many stories to inspire filmmakers to create works of profound significance. I am delighted to receive the Excellence in Asian Cinema Award. It is my goal to continue as an advocate of the Asian film industry and to promote a positive, strong image for Asian women in international films.”
“We are delighted to honour Michelle with the Excellence in Asian Cinema Award this year,” said Roger GARCIA, Executive Director of the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society. “Michelle has an impressive career of over 30 movies. Her incredible talent has led her from action films in Hong Kong to international works like The Lady. Her work in Chinese language cinema has helped promote it to an international audience and the global film industry. Michelle has excelled as both an action star and a serious actress – a very rare combination in this business, and practically unique. She is the perfect choice to be awarded with this prestigious honour.”
Michelle was previously the Jury President of the 3rd AFA and on the Jury at the 54th Cannes Film Festival and the 49th Berlin Film Festival. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) which annually awards the Oscars.
With a film career spanning almost three decades, Michelle began her acting career in TV commercials and local film productions like Police Assassins, Police Story III, The Heroic Trio and The Soong Sisters, among others. With her superb acting skills and distinctive image, she shot to international stardom through roles in films like Tomorrow Never Dies, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Memoirs of a Geisha. She has actively helped to promote the status of Asian actresses in the international film market and has been instrumental in breaking stereotypes of female Asian characters in Hollywood movies.
In 2011, Michelle cast off her martial-arts image by taking the leading role in The Lady, a memorable political romance based on the life of Burmese activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. Michelle has been praised for her efforts in the film, which she prepared for by travelling to Myanmar and personally meeting Aung San Suu Kyi.
From local films to international blockbusters – starring as a law enforcer or political hero – Michelle’s multi-talented personality and dazzling acting career have catapulted her to global fame, making her one of the world’s most respected actresses.
About the Asian Film Awards
Inaugurated in 2007, the Asian Film Awards (AFA) is an international pioneering programme, honouring filmmakers with outstanding achievements in the field of Asian cinema. The AFA is the only platform in the world that brings together the best cinematic talents of Asia, drawing film fans and professionals from all across the globe.The AFA Presentation Ceremony is a core event of the Entertainment Expo Hong Kong. Eminent filmmakers and superstars from around the world are invited to present awards to winners in each category, making the ceremony an elaborate extravaganza as well as an influential cultural event that helps position Hong Kong as the hub of Asian cinema.
Website: www.asianfilmawards.asia
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