BAFTA AND ASIAN FILM AWARDS ACADEMY X JOHNNIE TO IN LONDON

Just a quick post to acknowledge an achievement for renown Hong Kong director and producer Johnnie To,  the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) will host a speech and film retrospective with Johnnie To in London on June 22nd.  The event is co-presented by the Asian Film Awards Academy (the guys behind the Asian Film Awards that we are a partner for every year).

More details here. Check it out if you are in the UK or check for highlights on their website after the event.

 Legendary Hong Kong director to speak at ‘BAFTA A Life in Pictures: Johnnie To, co-presented by the Asian Film Awards Academy’ on Monday 22 June

Financially supported by Create Hong Kong and Hong Kong Film Development Fund, supported by Brand Hong Kong and Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, London

London/Hong Kong, Wednesday 27 May: The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and the Asian Film Awards Academy have today announced that the legendary Hong Kong film director Johnnie To will discuss his craft and career at a special ‘BAFTA A Life in Pictures’ event at BAFTA’s headquarters, 195 Piccadilly in London, on Monday 22 June.

The event is co-presented by the Asian Film Awards Academy, and financially supported by Create Hong Kong and Hong Kong Film Development Fund, supported by Brand Hong Kong and Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, London.

‘BAFTA A Life in Pictures’ is a long-running series of onstage interviews in which some of the film world’s leading talent share insights into the experiences that helped them hone and develop their craft. Previous subjects include such figures as Kenneth Branagh, Cate Blanchett, Jim Broadbent, David Fincher, Tom Hanks, Ethan Hawke, Dustin Hoffman, Helen Mirren, Alan Rickman, Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep, Quentin Tarantino and Emma Thompson.

Amanda Berry OBE, Chief Executive of BAFTA, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Johnnie To, one of the most prolific, popular and critically acclaimed filmmakers, as the subject of our latest ‘A Life in Pictures’ event. We look forward to sharing insights from his long and varied film career. We’re particularly pleased to co-present this event with the Asian Film Awards Academy, which shares our desire to foster creative and cultural exchange between British and Asian film practitioners.”

Dr. Wilfred Wong Ying-Wai, SBS, JP, Chairman of the Asian Film Awards Academy, said: “It is a great pleasure for the Asian Film Awards Academy to collaborate with BAFTA to bring one of the most internationally respected and influential Hong Kong directors Johnnie To to share his work and experience with the UK audience. It also marks an unprecedented collaboration between the two academies. It is our objective to present the best of Asian cinema to audiences worldwide and we look forward to working with BAFTA.”

Public tickets for ‘BAFTA A Life in Pictures: Johnnie To’ will go on sale at 13.00 on Friday 29 May. To book tickets, go to _ www.bafta.org/whats-on/._

Recordings of previous events in the series are available on BAFTA Guru, BAFTA’s online learning channel ( www.bafta.org/guru)).

Event details:

BAFTA A Life in Pictures: Johnnie To, co-presented by the Asian Film Awards Academy

Financially supported by Create Hong Kong and Hong Kong Film Development Fund, supported by Brand Hong Kong and Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, London

Monday 22 June at BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly, London

19:00     Champagne Taittinger Reception

19:30     Event commences

Johnnie To biography:

Johnnie To has directed 54 and produced 70 feature films in a career spanning five decades. A versatile filmmaker, whose catalogue of work covers a variety of genres, he is best known internationally for his action and crime movies, such as The Mission (1999), Election (2005) and Vengeance (2009), which have earned him cult status and critical acclaim, as well as commercial success and recognition at major film festivals.

Johnnie To Kei-Fung began his career in television before making his feature film directorial debut in 1979 with The Enigmatic Case. He directed and produced over thirty films in the 1980s and 1990s, establishing his reputation in the Hong Kong film industry, and came to international prominence with his post-modern martial arts film The Heroic Trio in 1993.

In 1996 To, along with writer Wai Ka-Fai, created the highly successful production company Milkyway Image, where he has directed and produced daring and innovative films such as The Longest Night (1998), A Hero Never Dies (1998), Where a Good Man Goes (1999) and Sparrow (2008).

_Johnnie To has been named Best Director three times in the Hong Kong Film Awards, three times in the Golden Horse Awards of Taiwan, six times at the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards, and three times at the Golden Bauhinia Awards (awarded by the Hong Kong Film Critics Association). He has also received numerous nominations and commendations from film festivals in Asia-Pacific, Europe and the US, including nominations for the Golden Lion in Venice, Palme d’Or in Cannes and the Golden Bear in Berlin. _

_In 2012 Johnnie To received lifetime achievement awards at the Locarno International Film Festival and Udine Far East Festival in recognition of his contributions to film art. He has served as a jury member at major film festivals including Cannes (2011) and Venice (2008). _

In 2004, To was appointed to the Hong Kong Arts Development Council and soon after chaired its Film and Media Arts Group.  In 2005, he initiated the ‘Fresh Wave Short Film Competition’ which evolved in 2010 into an international short film festival, further fostering cultural exchange among international filmmakers. In 2014, To was appointed Vice Chairman of the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society.

Johnnie To has been awarded a number of honours by government and academic institutions, including: the French Order of Arts and Letters by the French Ministry of Culture (2009); the Medal of Honour by the HKSAR Government (2010); an Honorary Fellowship by Lingnan University, Hong Kong (2011); an Honorary Doctorate by the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts (2014); and the degree of Doctor of Letters, honoris causa at Hong Kong Baptist University (2015).