An extraordinary production, developed on the initiative of Johnnie To, will honour official opening of the 14th edition of Five Flavours Asian Film Festival.
“Septet” is a tribute to the history of Hong Kong cinema and the city itself. Seven masters of Hong Kong cinema and seven stories set in the successive decades from the 1950s until today. The idea was conceived by Johnnie To, a remarkable creator of action cinema, who invited Sammo Hung, Ann Hui, Patrick Tam, Yuen Woo-ping, Ringo Lam and Tsui Hark to collaborate. Filmmakers returned to their artistic roots as “Septet” was shot entirely on 35mm film. The artists look with nostalgia at factors that influenced history of the region and shaped their own biographies. “Septet” combines traditions of Cantonese dramas and boldness of Hong Kong New Wave with appreciation of action movies, that gained so much love around the world.
In his episode Sammo Hung, producer, actor and director (with hundreds of titles in his filmography), goes back to the 1950s and restrictive school of dance and martial arts, which trained the most renowned actors of this genre. Ann Hui (the heroine of retrospective at 11th Five Flavours and winner of the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at this year’s Venice Film Festival) reflects on times of educational boom in the 1960s, when schools were full of children of ambitious city residents and organized classes even on the roofs of their buildings.
Patrick Tam, the New Wave director and mentor of Wong Kar-wai, portrays the 1980s – a time of economic uncertainty and mass migration – from the perspective of two teenagers facing prospect of separation. Yuen Woo-ping, legendary choreographer and director of action movies (renowned not only for his films with Jet Li and Jackie Chan, but also for his work on “The Matrix”), created an intimate story about an older man and his little granddaughter. The story about intergenerational relations takes place on the eve of the Handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997.
Johnnie To moves the narrative to the 21st century, showing the fate of three friends looking for opportunities to quickly enrich themselves in a dynamically developing city. A starting point for Ringo Lam is the return to Hong Kong of an emigrant who rediscovers his hometown in 2010.
Tsui Hark has decided to look ahead: his episode takes place in a psychiatric hospital. A therapeutic conversation between doctor and patient takes an unexpected turn, and the question of an identity of the protagonists will remain hanging. Perhaps so does the question about the identity of Hong Kong.
The film is intended as filmmakers’ farewell to 35mm film and a summary of extraordinary history of Hong Kong cinema – but also an inspiration to young Hong Kong filmmakers who are taking the baton from their masters today.
14th Five Flavours Asian Film Festival will take place in Warsaw and online between 25th November – 2nd December 2020.
