The 24th annual Made in Hong Kong Film Festival, cosponsored by the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery with the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, features some of the most talked-about recent films out of Hong Kong. This year’s festival, running from July 19 through Aug 18, brings together Hong Kong cinema’s past and present. The longest- running annual film festival begins with a special appearance by award-winning actress Crisel Consunji, star of the acclaimed drama Still Human, and concludes with a pair of classics. This series is copresented by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office.
This year’s Made in Hong Kong Film Festival lineup includes:
Still Human, Friday, July 19; 7 p.m. – Veteran actor Anthony Wong and newcomer Crisel Consunji both won well-deserved Hong Kong Film Awards for performances in this moving dramedy about a grumpy wheelchair-bound pensioner (Wong) and the live-in maid (Consunji) hired to take care of him. Directed by Oliver Siu Kuen Chan, Hong Kong, 2019, 111 min., DCP, Cantonese with English and Chinese subtitles. In person: Crisel Consunji, actress.
The Thousand Faces of Dunjia, Sunday, July 21; 2 pm – Starring pop singer Aarif Rahman, this big-screen extravaganza is set in a mythical version of ancient China, where a clan of supernatural heroes battles shape-shifting aliens to retrieve a magical orb that will restore peace to the kingdom. Directed by Yuen Woo-ping, China, 2017, 113 min., DCP, Mandarin with English and Chinese subtitles.
Integrity, Friday, July 26; 7 pm – When two important witnesses fail to appear in a court case, the chief investigator for Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is led deeper and deeper into a web of cryptocurrency, high-stakes tobacco smuggling, and a vast network of corruption that even reaches back to his own childhood. Directed by Alan Mak, Hong Kong, 2019, 114 min., DCP, Cantonese with English and Chinese subtitles.
Men on the Dragon, Sunday, July 28; 2 pm – In this feel-good indie hit, four corporate employees join the company’s dragon boat racing team to avoid falling victim to a round of layoffs, only to find that becoming middle-aged athletes improves their troubled personal lives as well. Directed by Sunny Chan, Hong Kong, 2018, 92 min., DCP, Cantonese with English and Chinese subtitles). In person: Sunny Chan, director; Jennifer Yu, actress; and members of DC Dragons dragon boat club.
Project Gutenberg, Sunday, August 4; 2 pm – The winner of no less than seven Hong Kong Film Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay, this thriller follows the exploits of a gang of counterfeiters. Project Gutenberg’s twist-filled plot will keep you guessing right up to the end. Directed by Felix Chong, Hong Kong/China, 2018, 130 min., DCP, Cantonese and Mandarin with English and Chinese subtitles.
The Leakers, Friday, August 9; 7 pm – When a contagious and deadly virus suddenly strikes Malaysia, a Hong Kong journalist is tipped off by a colleague that its release may not be accidental. That touches off an investigation that entangles journalists, cops, and an international hacking group with shadowy motives. Directed by Herman Yau, Hong Kong/Malaysia, 2018, 103 min., DCP, Cantonese, English, Malay, Tamil, and Mandarin with English and Chinese subtitles.
Master Z: Ip Man Legacy, Sunday, August 11; 2 pm – Max Zhang stars as a former challenger to Ip Man, who now lives a peaceful life as a single father running a store—until he runs afoul of local criminals and has to defend his turf from an opium den proprietress and a villainous restaurateur. Directed by Yuen Woo-ping, Hong Kong/China, 2018, 107 min., DCP, Cantonese and English with English and Chinese subtitles.
Full Contact, Friday, August 16; 7 pm – We pay tribute to one of Hong Kong’s true cinematic pioneers, Ringo Lam, with this ferociously over-the-top gangster film. Chow Yun Fat stars as Jeff, a criminal with a conscience who seeks vengeance on the gay libertine gangster Judge (Simon Yam), who double-crossed him and left him for dead. Print courtesy of the Academy Film Archive. Directed by Ringo Lam, Hong Kong, 1992, 104 min., 35mm, Cantonese with English and Chinese subtitles.
Police Story, Sunday, August 18; 2 pm – In this breathtakingly inventive martial-arts comedy, director/star/one-man stunt machine Jackie Chan plays Ka-Kui, a Hong Kong police inspector who goes rogue to bring down a drug kingpin and protect the case’s star witness (Chinese cinema legend Brigitte Lin) from retribution. Directed by Jackie Chan, Hong Kong, 1985, 100 min., DCP, Cantonese with English subtitles.
The Made in Hong Kong Film Festival is free and open to the public. All films are screened in the Meyer Auditorium of the Freer Gallery of Art. Admission is first come, first served. Auditorium doors open 30 minutes before show time. Visit asia.si.edu/films for full descriptions, schedule updates and admission policies.
About the Freer|Sackler
The Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art and the adjacent Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., together comprise the nation’s museums of Asian art. It contains one of the most important collections of Asian art in the world, featuring more than 40,000 objects ranging in time from the Neolithic to the present day, with especially fine groupings of Islamic art, Chinese jades, bronzes and paintings and the art of the ancient Near East. The Freer|Sackler also contains important masterworks from Japan, ancient Egypt, South and Southeast Asia and Korea, as well as the Freer’s noted collection of works by American artist James McNeill Whistler.
The Freer|Sackler is part of the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum, education and research complex, which is dedicated to the increase and diffusion of knowledge.
About the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office
The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office is the permanent representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Its mission is to strengthen the economic, trade, investment and cultural ties between Hong Kong and the United States.
# # #