WRITTEN BY FÊTE CHINOISE EDITORIAL TEAM (Kayla Lo, with notes from Deborah Lau-Yu)
Images: Alan Ma, Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Toronto), IMDB, Jennifer yu, One Cool Group Limited

The "Making Waves - Navigators of Hong Kong Cinema" festival, in collaboration with Asian Pop-Up Cinema, brought a selection of six captivating Hong Kong films to Montreal from last week on October 20th to 22nd. The event offered a weekend filled with cinematic wonder, allowing Montreal's audiences to immerse themselves in the world of Hong Kong cinema.

As a Canadian favourite for tourism and with a substantial Chinese diaspora community, Montreal is steeped in artistic and cultural vibrancy, and it set the stage for this exciting cinematic gathering. Notably, this marked one of the first opportunities since the pandemic that a group of talented Hong Kong filmmakers to showcase their work together on Canadian soil. Cinephiles in Montreal had the unique opportunity to interact with the talented individuals who brought these films to life, including one of our readers and contributors, Alan Ma. 

The festival kicked off with a by-invitation reception hosted by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Toronto) (Toronto ETO) led by its Director Emily Mo, just before the screening of the first film in the line-up, Over My Dead Body《死屍死時四十四》.

Director Kelvin Shum 岑嘉彥 from Deliverance《源生罪》, actress Jennifer Yu 余香凝 from In Broad Daylight《白日之下》, actress Angel Lam 林千渟 from Lonely 18《我們的十八歲》, and actor Wong You-nam 黃又南 from Over My Dead Body《死屍死時四十四》 attended the event in person, sharing their personal experiences and behind-the-scenes stories, providing unique insights into the magic of filmmaking.

The three-day film program treated Montreal audiences to six Hong Kong films: Over My Dead Body《死屍死時四十四》, Lonely Eighteen《我們的十八歲》, In Broad Daylight《白日之下》, Deliverance《源生罪》, Lost Love《流水落花》, and The Narrow Road《窄路微塵》. The event was a resounding success, with all tickets quickly claimed. Post-screening question-and-answer sessions allowed local audiences to interact with the creative talents behind these films.

Notably, actor Jennifer Yu 余香凝 was recently nominated for Best Actress by the Golden Horse Film Awards, which takes place in November in Asia. It is her first time receiving this nomination from one of the region’s most prestigious industry awards, and as she expressed on social media, something completely unexpected. As her career unfolds, this opportunity to meet her in Montreal now was a golden moment for fans in Canada as it might not easily come again. 

Director Kelvin Shum 岑嘉彥 was a fascinating mind to speak with. Having been educated in Australia and in Los Angeles, US, he related well with the complex diaspora identities of Chinese-Canadian Montrealers who were in the audience. Deliverance《源生罪》stars Simon Yam 任達華, Hee Ching Paw 鮑起靜, the late Kenneth Tsang 曾江, and Ron Ng 吳卓羲.

"Making Waves" is a captivating film program presented by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society in partnership with CreateHK, and in collaboration with the Asian Pop-Up Cinema in Chicago. Since its launch last year, this program has toured 15 international cities, providing a platform to showcase the dynamic and inspiring works of Hong Kong filmmakers.

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