12 – 17 July 2022, Louis Koo Cinema
New Waves, New Shores: Busan International Film Festival is back with three screenings and a masterclass! The moving image programme is presented by the Hong Kong Arts Centre (HKAC), financially supported by the Film Development Fund, Create Hong Kong, and in festival partnership with the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF). Through an integrated series of screenings, talks, workshops and a masterclass, the programme aims to introduce the cross currents in Hong Kong and Korean cinema, as well as the importance of BIFF as one of the leading film festivals in Asia. The screenings comprise a Hong Kong showcase curated by Maggie Lee (Asia Chief Film Critic, Variety; curator for Tokyo and Vancouver International Film Festivals), and a Korean showcase co-curated by Lee and Nam Dong-chul (Program Director, Busan International Film Festival).
Previously brought to a halt by the pandemic, the programme now brings back screenings of Too Many Ways to Be No. 1, Dumplings and Thirst, and Masterclass on Screen Adaptation: A Conversation Between Chung Seo-kyung and Fruit Chan, along with an early bird screening of Decision to Leave, Park Chan-wook's latest work.
Too Many Ways to Be No. 1, the often talked about but rarely screened Hong Kong classic directed by Wai Ka-fai, will return with two screenings to the Louis Koo Cinema of HKAC. Before Omicron hit the city, all three screenings of the legendary film were completely sold out.
The programme will close with Masterclass on Screen Adaptation: A Conversation Between Chung Seo-kyung and Fruit Chan at 5:15pm on 17 July 2022. Chung Seo-kyung, Korean screenwriter known for her frequent collaboration with Park Chan-wook, and Fruit Chan, award-winning Hong Kong writer-director, will share their experience on cinematic adaptation of literature. The masterclass will be preceded by screenings of the guests' acclaimed literary film adaptations – Dumplings directed by Fruit Chan, and Thirst penned by Chung Seo-kyung and Park Chan-wook. HKAC will also present Chung Seo-kyung and Park Chan-wook's latest collaboration Decision to Leave. The audience can be the first to watch this Palme d'Or-nominated thriller, which won Park Chan-wook his first Best Director at this year's Cannes.
Screenings
Too Many Ways to Be No. 1 12/7/2022 (Tue) & 13/7/2022 (Wed) 7:45pm | Louis Koo Cinema, Hong Kong Arts Centre
It has been said that the age of 32 is a crucial junction in one's life, with every tick of the clock seeming to signal one's impending demise. Small-time gangster Gau (Sean Lau) visits a fortune teller to help him make an important life choice. Whether to go to the left or right is perhaps not the main point, for even if people can choose their fate, it is perhaps their character that determines if they would take a risk or lay low. Wai Ka-fai directed this distinctively creative and darkly humorous work on the eve of the handover of Hong Kong to China. With its 360-degree turning camera and upside-down framing, the film's duo ending is a reflection of the uncertain fate of the city and the absurdities of life.
Decision to Leave 15/7/2022 (Fri) 7:45pm | Louis Koo Cinema, Hong Kong Arts Centre
Kind and polite detective Haejun is entrusted with a case of unnatural death in the mountains. While investigating the case, he meets Seorae, the dead victim's wife, and can't help but both suspect and develop an interest in her.
Dumplings 16/7/2022 (Sat) 7:30pm | Louis Koo Cinema, Hong Kong Arts Centre
Mrs. Li (Miriam Yeung) is an aging actress with a stalling career and a cheating husband (Tony Leung Ka-fai). To rescue her career, she turns to Aunt Mei (Bai Ling), whose famous dumplings are known for their rejuvenating abilities, for help. However, the horrifying contents and amazing effectiveness of Mei's dumplings drive Mrs. Li to take extreme measures for the sake of eternal youth. Originally made as a part of the Peter Chan-produced omnibus Three… Extremes (2005) – which also features a short by Thirst director Park Chan-wook – this slow-burn adaptation of the novella by Rouge and Farewell My Concubine author Lillian Lee (who also wrote the script) is a chilling body horror film on human vanity about youth and beauty. For her creepy turn as Mei, Bai Ling won Best Supporting Actress at both the Golden Horse Awards and the Hong Kong Film Awards.
Thirst 17/7/2022 (Sun) 2:30pm | Louis Koo Cinema, Hong Kong Arts Centre
Sang-hyun (Song Kang-ho) is a well-meaning Catholic priest who volunteers for a vaccine experiment in Africa. In the process, he receives a life-saving blood transfusion that also turns him into a vampire. As his thirst for blood grows, so too does his desire for Tae-ju (Kim Ok-bin), the abused wife of his childhood friend. Loosely based on Thérèse Raquin – Émile Zola's novel about a doomed adulterous love affair – the deliciously macabre script by director Park Chan-wook and Chung Seo-kyung plays with traditional vampire film tropes for a provocative and darkly comical story of a repressed man's carnal awakening and very bloody pursuit for eternal life. Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, Park's thrilling take on the horror genre is also one of his sexiest films.
Masterclass on Screen Adaptation: A Conversation Between Chung Seo-kyung and Fruit Chan
People say that the script is the beating heart of any film. In this rare meeting between two fiercely creative minds, Hong Kong's premier indie filmmaker Fruit Chan and acclaimed screenwriter Chung Seo-kyung will share their unique insights into literary adaptations, what inspired them for their groundbreaking forays into the horror genre, and what their respective film industries can learn from each other.
Date & Time: 17/7/2022 (Sun) 5:15pm
Venue: Louis Koo Cinema, Hong Kong Arts Centre
Languages: Conducted in Korean and Cantonese with Cantonese and English interpretation
Moderator: Maggie Lee (Film Critic and Curator)
Guests: Chung Seo-kyung (Korean screenwriter, filmography includes Lady Vengeance, Thirst, The Handmaiden), Fruit Chan (Hong Kong director)
Guests' Bios
Chung Seo-kyung
Chung Seo-kyung is regarded as one of the best film and television writers of Korea today. Her legendary and timeless works with Korean director, Park Chan-wook, have captivated audiences around the world. These films include The Handmaiden (2016), Thirst (2009), I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK (2006) and Lady Vengeance (2005). She has been bestowed with screenwriting awards from the Chicago Film Critics Association Awards and the Sitges Film Festival, and has also been nominated for best screenwriting awards at the Asian Film Awards, Baek Sang Art Awards, San Francisco Film Critics Circle and several other awarding bodies. Her latest film collaboration with Park is Decision to Leave.
Fruit Chan
Fruit Chan entered the film industry in the 1980s and worked as an assistant director for several films. He is an all-round filmmaker – as a director, a screenwriter, producer and editor. In 1997, he directed the groundbreaking independent fiction feature, Made in Hong Kong, winning the Special Jury Prize at the Locarno Film Festival, and multiple Golden Horse Awards and Hong Kong Film Awards, bringing him international recognition and acclaim. He went on to direct the Handover Trilogy and the Prostitution Trilogy, which were screened at film festivals abroad and garnered many awards. His oeuvre includes commercial fare such as Dumplings (2004), The Midnight After (2014) and Coffin Homes (2021). He has also made a documentary, My City (2015), on the iconic Hong Kong writer, Xi Xi.
Tickets are available now on POPTICKET and for full details, see the programme website.
