The 18th ifva Awards
Open Category Finalist Showcase
Even though the end of the world did not materialise, Hong Kong is still full of "demons". Out of the superman, aliens, monster, Kwan Wan Cheung, cattle and sheep, who can save Hong Kong from this purgatory? The nine finalists touch upon popular topics in Hong Kong including the hegemony of the real estate sector, the new immigrants, public demonstration and the disappearing old landmarks. They would definitely provide you with plenty of food for thought.
Programme 1: The Best of Times, the Worst of Times
3/3 (Wed) 8pm | agnès b. CINEMA | 108' | HK$60 / $35* | with after-screening discussion
Programme 1: The Best of Times, the Worst of Times
Paradox
Lo Chun-yip
Col & B/W / 30' 00" / In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles
We can enjoy freedom of speech, but have no way/chance to listen to each other.
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6th March
Wong Chun
Col / 30' 00" / In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles
Three protesters and three police officers, spending the whole night around a dining table.
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Epilepsy
Lee Kai-ho
Col / 20' 00" / In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles
An emotional status under the established authority.
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One . Superhero
Ben Tang
Col / 10' 56" / In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles
A monster wreaks havoc on Earth, and Superman comes to the rescue. However, he receives instructions from the powers-that-be that he ought to make sure the property developers' valuable assets are well protected.
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Kwun Tong-going away
Lam Hon-shan
Col / 16' 40" / In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles
Changes make people feel wistful. Getting back together reminds them of what they missed. A generation of Kwun Tong residents tell their stories spanning half a century.
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Additional Showcase
ifva greenlab 2011-2012 Commission Project
The Secret Taste
Adam Wong (Hong Kong)
Col / 12' 32" / In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles
May 2011, Ming Chow, at her 27 years old, having studied the barista certificate course for only two months, defeated many experienced baristas at the Grand Barista Championship, Hong Kong region. What made Chow's coffee hit the cord of the jury who were international coffee experts?
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Programme 2: As the Dust Settles
14/3 (Thu) 7pm | agnès b. CINEMA | 93' | HK$60 / $35* | with after-screening discussion
Programme 2: As the Dust Settles
Cow
Kwan Man-hin Mandrew
Col / 25' 00" / In Cantonese with English subtitles
Chan came from mainland China and settled in Hong Kong for three years, now he was facing the last year of HKCEE. In this particular year, the boy has experienced life more than ever.
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Sam Hui Yat
Ho Chung-ken, So Ka-ue, Lui Shi-pang, Chau Nim-wa, Yau Hawk-sau
Col / 21' 23" / In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles
The documentary captures Sam Hui Yat, an old-fashioned Chinese Dim Sum Restaurant in a day.
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GwanGong VS Alien
Leung Chung-man
Col / 16' 00" / In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles
Hong Kong people faces a the catastrophe they have never encountered - The aliens attack! At the last minute, He - The Emperor Gwan returns!
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Waiting to Drown
Nick Cheuk
Col / 30' 00" / In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles
Chak, a sentimental boy who enjoys indulging in his imaginary world; Ellen, an imaginative girl who likes to talk to her soft toy. Yet, what Chak has to face is the brutal reality...…
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The 18th ifva Awards
Youth Category Finalist Showcase
The youths always dare to be brave, dare to be true. Their view of the world is always full of vitality and creativity. This year's nine finalists deal with a wide range of themes that include one's yearning for love and the pursuit of one's dream. Many works also try to reflect on the spirit of "Under the Lion Rock" and what it represents. They should provide plenty of food for thought for Hong Kong society that is often seen as rigid and oldfashioned.
16/3 (Sat)3pm| agnès b. CINEMA | Hong Kong/ 112mins | With after-screening discussion | HK$60 / $35* 
The Boy
Daniel Lee, Oliver Lau, Chris Cheung, Jonathan Tam
Col / 22' 03" / In Cantonese with Chinese & English subtitles
Ming is being chased by assassins from his former organisation after quitting it, trying to get a normal life. Also, his uncle's incentive of adopting him is not pure kindness.
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Rainbow
Law Ho-pui
Col / 10' 07" / In Cantonese with no subtitles
After the death of Grandpa, I found out that Grandma has many stories I have not heard before. I also discovered that her smile is as beautiful as rainbow.
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Good Riddance
Lam Kam-ho, Yung Ma-tak, Chan Ka-ho
Col / 5' 04" / In Cantonese with Chinese & English subtitles
It is hard to start a business, but even harder to maintain one. From the story of a small village corner store, we observe Hong Kong's indomitable spirit.
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Invisible notes
Tang Yik-chi, Lee Sin-ming Sammy, Tse Chun-lai, Kwong Wai-shan, Fung Yee-man, Chan Tsz-him, Cheng Lok-kwan, Cheng Tsz-tim, Wong Wing-chung, Tam Ching-yiu
Col / 22' 20" / In Cantonese with Chinese subtitles
The dilemma between our studies and our dreams often puts us in a difficult situation. But does giving in to reality mean giving up your dreams?
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Symbiosis
Pun Tsz-wai
Col / 5' 36" / No dialogue and subtitles
Symbiosis is an experimental video showing the conflict between modern media and mankind. This is presented by projected visuals and animation.
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Red Apple
Lee Wai-yam, Tang Lok-yiu
Col / 27' 00" / In Cantonese with Chinese subtitles
People and incidents observed in a market.
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Twin Ice
Ma Man-ching, Leung Kwok-pang, Chan Chun-hong, Chan Leung-yu Kathy, Ho Ka-wai, Gong Rio Ho-ching, Chung Ka-wai, Tsang Ching-yee
Col / 10' 00" / In Cantonese with no subtitles
People say that pure friendship between a man and a woman will not open the door to romantic love. After watching this story, who do you think of?
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On the Same Boat
Wong Wai-kiu, Ho Tsz-hin, Lo Lai-shan, Ma Hiu-laam
Col / 5' 00" / In Cantonese with Chinese & English subtitles
What is the spirit of "Under the Lion Rock"? Through filming the "Equal Share Campaign" that aims at helping people at the bottom of the social ladder, this film hopes to provide you with food for thought.
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Molding
Ng Chak-hang
Col / 4' 08" / No dialogue and subtitles
In everyday life we all imitate one another. Slowly you and I become the same; we are taken from the same mold.
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Additional Showcase
ifva greenlab 2011-2012 Commission Project
Soundless
Vincent Chui (Hong Kong)
Col / 5' 12" / In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles
I hope the audience would slowly enter the world of the deaf people through the alternation of sound and silence. However, it quite hard to achieve. Just as Chen Jun said in the film: she couldn't understand what silence is.
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The 18th ifva Awards
Animation Category Finalist Showcase
Ten animations with various themes and different styles demonstrate the different mankind in the eye of local animators. Some of them contain affectionate family relationship; others contain strange romantic relationship or bizarre encounter in the virtual world. This collection is surely a feast for the eyes.
14/3 (Thur) 9pm|agnès b. CINEMAHong Kong|85mins|With after-screening discussion|HK$60 / $35* 
Half
Lai Xueyi, Lin Hongrui
Col / 3' 05" / No dialogue and subtitles
This is a story of Mr. Eye running into Miss. Eye on a lonely night.
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Level Up
Lee Ka-tai, Cheung Ka-lai
Col & B/W / 12' 08" / In Cantonese with English subtitles
Being out of school and unemployed, the protagonist is obsessed with the world of virtual reality. By chance, he encounters a friend through online gaming and is influenced by his positive thinking.
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The Room
Chui Chun-yu, Chan Wai-yee Valerie
Col / 7' 39" / In Cantonese with English subtitles
In a strange world, Lan awakes and finds herself in a luxurious room surrounded by danger...
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ON BA GONG
Leung Man-ki
Col & B/W / 12' 00" / In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles
KAKA is a lonely person in Planet X who wants to have a close companion ...
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Puppets
Chan Hoi-hin
Col / 13' 00" / No dialogue and subtitles
The relationship of a pair of puppet couple is becoming bizarre, fallen into a gloomy and depressed struggle. The real culprit is the inner desire to manipulate each other…
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The First Meal
Chang Yee-ting
Col / 3' 45" / No dialogue and subtitles
The film explores the relationship between a father and his beloved son, who went astray.
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Under the Lion Crotch
Wong Ping
Col / 4' 39" / In Cantonese with Chinese and English Subtitles
Live the spirit of "Under the Lion Rock", Fulfill the wishes of the spirit under the lion's crotch.
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Howl the Mobile Fatty
Kongkee @ Penguin Lab
Col / 15' 52" / In Cantonese with English subtitles
On a sunny day, the witty 07 is drawn into a duel between truth and lie because of a Dragon Beard Candy.
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Soeng
Lam Ho-tak
Col / 3' 44" / No dialogue and subtitles
Day after day we toil ourselves with endless work, even our spare time to rest, to think and to dream is occupied by work. Where are our dreams?
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Fishing With Popo
Fu Wing-yan
Col / 8' 26" / In Cantonese with English subtitles
As she visits her grandmother's grave, a girl remembers the funeral, her grandmother's vivid storytelling and a curious dream that she had of her grandmother in her after-life.
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Additional Showcase
ifva greenlab 2011-2012 Commission Project
This is Not the End
Zcratch Creation (Hong Kong)
Col / 2' 25" / In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles
Through a relaxed form and animated style, the work presents a story about a man who found his own way to overcome the great failure of his life. No matter how big the difficulties are, if you find a right path, it's no big deal.
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The 18th ifva Awards
Asian New Force Category Finalist
Fresh filmmakers from Asia take us to different corners of this continent. The ten finalists this year focus on marginal figures in our society such as foreign worker in Israel, Kurdish refugees, gleaners in Beijing and foreign bride in Taiwan. Through modest images, these short films present us tales of how these characters pursue their dreams, freedom and love.
Programme 1: Between the Wall: 15/3 (Fri) 7:30pm | agnès b. CINEMA | Hong Kong | 124 mins | With after-screening discussion | HK$60 / $35*
When the Sunset Disappear
Hu Yangyi (China)
Col / 10' 07" / In Putonghua with Chinese and English subtitles
On Chinese New Year's Eve, my grandmother took "me" to the home for the elderly and something memorable happened that I still remember vividly now.
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Concrete Heaven
Chen Qiang (China )
Col / 24' 25" / No dialogue with Chinese and English subtitles
A concrete paradise Heaven, Don't know where the roots, Tells the story of one family in the empty city!
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The Home Gleaners
Zhang Siqing (China)
Col / 30' 00" / In Putonghua with Chinese and English Subtitles
Ma Yuejing, a junkman, always following pocket-pickers, in order to collect those empty wallets abandoned by them, thereafter he contacts owners of these wallets to get tiny paid. Once he spied on a pocket-picker as usual, but he ignored that, from the wallet a woman's photo dropped down, which was picked up by a "junkboy". The boy followed Ma, and after Ma got the wallet from the thief whom thrown it away, the boy stole it from Ma when he was in toilet. Although Ma caught the boy up, he tried to know and understand more, and they stepped up a bizarre way of Seeking…
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Female Directors
Yang Mingming (China)
Col & B/W / 29' 46" / In Putonghua with Chinese and English subtitles
After graduating from filmmaking school, Ah Ming and Yueyue cannot find any work, so they decide to make a film of their own lives.
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A Reunion Night
Chiu Chui-lung (Taiwan)
Col / 28' 30" / In Mandarin, Zhejiang dialect and Hakka with Chinese and English subtitles
Taiwanese worker Shenshu had married a mainland China wife YuHua.Recently, YuHua is worried about her older sister who had ran away about 2 months.YuHua plans to find her but Shenshu don't allow,he is afraid that he will lose her.Because, although they have been married for a decade, but he is not sure that she really loved him.
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節目二:生活仍是繼續:16/3 (六)12:30pm | agnès b. 電影院 | 香港 | 105分鐘 | 放映後設討論會 | HK$60 / $35* 
Malchiki
Ilya Kazankov (Russia)
Col / 22' 41" / In Russian with English subtitles
It does not matter if you are a captain of the first rank, Midshipman, Admiral or Lev Tolstoy - deep inside yourself you still are a little boy. And in a snowy town behind the red window Nadezhda (Hope) is waiting for you.
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The Other Side
Khen Shalem (Israel)
Col / 23' 40" / In Hebrew with English Subtitles
A simple soccer ball sparks an unusual friendship between two young boys on either side of the Israeli and Palestinian separation wall. Can this wordless and gaze free relationship overcome the wall's towering presence?
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Martha Must Fly
Ma'ayan Rypp (Israel)
Col / 25' 15" / In Hebrew and Russian with English subtitles
Martha is a foreign worker. She decides to fight for her freedom but reality pushes her into her fantasy world, one last time.
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The Blue Identity
Mumin Baris (Turkey)
Col / 19' 58" / In Kurdish with English subtitles
Two men with a Blue (refugee) passport living in Berlin try to deal with the idea of not being able to go back to their homeland forever.
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One Shoe Walks Bare foot
Lu Jie (China)
Col / 12' 54" / In German with English subtitles
The little girl Daisy tries to understand that, when life does not go the way she imagined it, it's up to the life but not her.
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Additional Showcase
ifva greenlab 2011-2012 Commission Project
Tomorrow is Another Day
Kit Hung (Hong Kong)
Col / 4' 13" / In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles
New immigrant Nguyen Thi Thom didn't speak a word of Cantonese when she came to Hong Kong. With optimism and perseverance, she changes her life for the better. She is fully integrated into the society finally. Music and lyrics by Eman Lam, this film is the Utopian vision of a Vietnamese woman in Hong Kong.
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Jury Recommendation
The ifva is an exceedingly competitive event with many high quality entries, and jury members often have to fight tooth and nail to get their chosen works into the finalist round. Because different jury members have different tastes, it is inevitable that many excellent works do not make it among the finalists. ifva has always respected the independent viewpoints of its jury members, and that's why we have created a section called "Jury Recommendation" which contains jury members' favorite works. Audience may well find in this section works that will delight and surprise them!
Programme 1: 10/3 (Sun) 2pm | Hong Kong Space Museum Lecture Hall | 96mins | Free Admission

Master Plan

Tolga H. Yuceil / Turkey / Col / 29' 58" / In Turkish with English subtitles

The man tries to kill himself. Every time he tries it, an angel keeps him from doing, by showing him the simple pleasures in life. Little does he know, that he has a purpose in life.

Recommended by Shek Kei

Remembrance, the Lasting Perfume

Lam Wing-yan (Anyan Willis) / Hong Kong/ Col / 7' 05" / In Spanish with English subtitles

 “Pleasure is the flower that passes; remembrance, the lasting perfume.” By Jean de Boufflers. It brings back scattered fragments of memories as sharp as integral photographs that had left the conscious mind. Of the seven senses, despite it can be one of the most remarkably evocative; smell is one of the most neglected senses. They recall memory of a worst period or remind us of a time when we were at the best.
Creating the story was a thrilling process. There were no obvious boundaries of cause and effects, just like in the real life.

Recommended by Tamas Waliczky, Lo Che-ying

Encounters

Chan Hin-ko / Hong Kong/ Col / 8' 20" / No dialogue and subtitles

Chance encounter can come anytime anywhere.

Recommended by Adam Wong

The Congee, for You and Me

Lee Tsz-ka / Hong Kong/ Col & B/W/ 10' 00" / In Cantonese with Chinese subtitles

People are busy making a living in Hong Kong. Luckily, with the support and care from the community centre and charitable organisation, they are getting by.

Recommended by John Chan

NIL

Wong Lai-ki/ Hong Kong/ Col / 5' 06" / In Cantonese with no subtitles

a story about a girl that living in a hell.

Recommended by Adam Wong

saba

Roqiye Tavakoli / Iran / Col / 15' 00" / In Persian with English subtitles

Fazed by the untimely death of her sister , a young girl (saba) is urged to rear her sister's children. In the meantime, her mother starts worrying over nonstop visits of her late daughter's husband to the house. Eventually, she is forced to...

Recommended by Clement Cheng

Little Kyota Neon Hood

Satsuki Okawa / Japan / Col / 20' 00" / In Japanese with English subtitles

A Japanese boy with neon hood finds an escape from daily life in a post disaster country---by befriending a foreigner who returns to the town he once fled.

Recommended by Clement Cheng

Programme 2: 10/3/2013(Sun) 5pm | Hong Kong Space Museum Lecture Hall | 88mins | Free Admission

The Dual

Abhilash Vijayan / India/ Col/ 29' 30" / In Hindi and Chattisgarhi with English subtitles

Poverty ridden remote village in Chhattisgarh, India. Armed Maoist Rebels are fighting against the Government.

The curfew, imposed in the village after the battle between the Maoists and the Army started, has been lifted.  The Captain of the armed forces appears comes for a shave. The Barber, who is a sympathizer of the rebels, is thrown into a dilemma getting the Captain unarmed in the chair right at the tip of the shaving blade. He could kill him easily or complete his job of giving a good shave. Meanwhile, the Captain is playing another game with the Barber.

Recommended by Shek Kei

Delight 

Wong Wong Chun-man/ Hong Kong/ Col B/W/ 8' 00" / No dialogue and subtitles

Dig deep for the forgotten dream, make it happen and share the joy with others.

Recommended by Adrian Chow

New "The Three Moves of Mencius' Mother"

Kwan Sum-yi, Lung Sin-mei/ Hong Kong/ Col / 4' 23" / In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles

The news of pregnant women from mainland going to Hong Kong for birth has stirred a lot of negativities in society. We shouldn’t discriminate even we don’t agree with what they do. I would like to use our camera to express the idea of respecting others.

Recommended by Adrian Chow

The Puzzled

Wan Kei-yan/ Hong Kong / Col/ 4' 30" / In English with English subtitles

A Russian guy proposes to his girlfriend, or tries to.

Recommended by Long Tin

2012

Wong Yin-fung, Mok Tik-yung, Chan Hon-wa/ Hong Kong / Col/ 12' 00" / In Cantonese with Chinese subtitles

The fat boy from Hong Kong was only interested in video game but not school because he truly believed the world would end in 2012…

Recommended by Tsang Tsui-shan

Kouezhañ

Judy Tong/ Hong Kong/ Col / 3' 00" / No dialogue and subtitles

Life is flooded with illusions in the midst of expectation, observation, comparison, fulfillment and group consciousness. In this imaginary space there is no exit for escaping from the others. Acting is a way to harmony. Life itself is a psychedelic drama. When will the authenticity of truth be shown?

Recommended by Tamas Waliczky, Lo Che-ying

Gogona Goridan

Eka Papiashvili / Georgia/ Col/ 13' 50" / In Georgian with English subtitles

Shortly after the war of 2008 in a Georgian mining village: Little Datho (8) is an outsider and ignores the other children of the village as they tend to confront him with his Russian background.  On top of that, when the girl Tamari (8), a South Ossetian war refugee, arrives in her new class, she is told to take a seat right beside the Russian boy.  Datho’s antipathy towards Tamari knows no limits once she tells the class that her dog was killed during a Russian attack.  However, after having destroyed Tamari´s color markers, the boy´s attempts to reconcile with her are rejected, which prompts him to realize that he has indeed gone too far.  Seeing that he does not have enough money to buy Tamari a new packet of markers, Datho is urged to come up with something better

Recommended by Teresa Kwong

Last Day of the Year

Tseng Ying-ting/ Taiwan /Colour / In Mandarin with Chinese and English subtitles

On this night, mother watches the world’s most beautiful fireworks…

Recommended by Teresa Kwong

Opening Film
Adventures of Tom Tomiczky by Tamas Waliczky & CHIRI/Trace by Naomi Kawase

Showcasing experimental images is the highlight of ifva this year, so how do experiments and creations seamlessly connected to one’s emotion and living? You’ll be enlightened and find the answer from the two opening films of the 18th ifva Festival – Adventures of Tom Tomiczky by legendary Hungarian computer animation master Tamas Waliczky and CHIRI/Trace by world-renowned Japanese director Naomi Kawase.

Adventures of Tom Tomiczky can be counted as the memoirs of Tamas Waliczky. Different from an ordinary traveler, there is no final destination for a nomad. Tamas Waliczky subconsciously turns himself as Tomiczky, wandering Monte Carlo, Karlsruhe, Venice and Japan with his dreamy steps, and cannot wait to take audience along a fantasy journey between dream and wakefulness.

Since Katatsumori in 1994, Naomi Kawase’s camera once again focuses on the portrait of her one and only “Grandma” (that’s how she called her adopted mother). Delicately and beautifully crafted, the heart-warming film creates poetic images which document Kawase’s final moments spending together with her beloved Grandma who passed away at the age of 95.

Experiment is not necessarily something abstract but could be approachable to everybody. Yet with no doubt innovation is the core element of being experimental. Tamas Waliczky and Naomi Kawase bravely blend experimental techniques into their familiar fields of creations, showcasing audience their self emotions and relationships with their beloved one with a total new angle. Who said that experimental spirit is always contradict to main stream genre? No matter what genres of films we are going to create, as long as we embrace the flow of life with perseverance and experimental spirit, our path of creation will always be full of sparkling moments and ideas.

9/3/2013 (Sat) 4pm  |  agnès b.CINEMA |  88 mins |  HK$60 / $35*
Adventures of Tom Tomiczky
Tamás Waliczky (Hungary)
2011 / Col / 43’/ In English with Chinese and English subtitles
Adventures of Tom Tomiczky is a feature-length high-definition 3D computer animation, which shows the surreal, poetic and burlesque adventures of a 21st-century emigrant.
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CHIRI/Trace
Naomi Kawase (Japan)
2012 / Col / 45' 00" / In Japanese with English subtitles
This is the artist’s close observation of the end of the life of her foster mother, who had turned 95. Following Grandma’s daily life, Kawase contemplates deeply on the fundamental themes of her own film productions, while elevating her life story into a tale of universal resonance.
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Adventures of Tom Tomiczky Screening and Artist Talk
Adventures of Tom Tomiczky
Tamás Waliczky (Hungary)
2011 / Col / 43’/ In English with Chinese and English subtitles
Adventures of Tom Tomiczky is a feature-length high-definition 3D computer animation, which shows the surreal, poetic and burlesque adventures of a 21st-century emigrant.
more
17/3 (Sun) / 12:30pm / agnès b. CINEMA / Screening 43' / HK$60 / $35* | Artist talk 45' / Conducted in English
After the screening Tamas Waliczky will hold a lecture with video projection of production images and videos.
Naomi Kawase and Her Grandma

Naomi Kawase has already made a series of short documentaries before rising to fame with her debut feature Moe No Suzaku in 1997. Her documentaries were eclectic, usually depicting everyday life with candor and sincerity. Her images were delicate and heart﹣warming, and instantly recognisable with her “signature”. The two documentaries chosen this time were made with a time span of almost 20 years in between. The protagonist of both works was Kawase’s “Grandma”.

Kawase’s parents got divorced when she was little. She was adopted by the sister of her maternal grandpa at the age of 10, while her adoptive parents were already 65 years old. Four years later her adoptive father passed away, and over the next few decades, Kawase lived and developed a close bond with her “Grandma” (that’s how she called her adoptive mother).

Katatsumori (1994) captured the two of them sharing good times together. CHIRI/Trace was the final tribute the artist paid to her Grandma, who was on her deathbed. One is hard to name a film that is more compelling than these two on subject matters such as family, filial piety, aging, illness and love. Director Naomi Kawase will be present for audience discussion after the screening.

In collaboration with
17/3/2013 (Sun) 3pm  |  agnès b. CINEMA | 85mins | With after-screening discussion  | HK$60 / $35* 
Katatsumori
Naomi Kawase (Japan)
1994 / Col / 40′ 00″ / In Japanese with English subtitles
Two years after Embracing, Naomi Kawase films the everyday life of her grandma (adopted mother). The heart-warming pictures describe through the growth of peas captures the audience’s mind.
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CHIRI/Trace
Naomi Kawase (Japan)
2012 / Col / 45' 00" / In Japanese with English subtitles
This is the artist’s close observation of the end of the life of her foster mother, who had turned 95. Following Grandma’s daily life, Kawase contemplates deeply on the fundamental themes of her own film productions, while elevating her life story into a tale of universal resonance.
more
Faye Reborn a Film by Susie Au and Sharing Session
《Faye Reborn》

After so many years, I still hope to have a few hours each day to capture her in her nature habitat… not a repeat but a reborn?!

What is a Director without one’s own distinctive storytelling approach and visual disposition? What is a singer without one’s style and musical persona? In the rarity of the short film Faye Reborn, Director Susie Au blends the two, depicts the very essence of her long time collaborating artist, Faye Wong, through her scrutinising eyes.

The fruit of the exercise is a nouveau en forme “MusiDocu” that goes beyond the common notion of a regular documentary…
In the sharing session, Director Susie Au is going to retrace the intriguing journey of this creative endeavour with a demonstration of her film clip. She will share with the audience the process, where the French psychoanalyst, Disuse Anzieu, nicely put as “from the creative chill to the crop of the harvest… where it should already be there once a truly brilliant creative idea is in conception”.

9/3/2013 (Sat) 7:30pm | agnès b. CINEMA | Free Admission|
In-association with
All About Us 2012/13
Student Creative Film Showcase

All About Us is now in its 3rd edition, and continuing to provide a series of short film production camps and outdoor shooting activities for ethnic minority youths. Professional film directors including Adam Wong, Lai Yan-chi Mo, Chan Wing-chiu, Wu Hong-lun Joseph, Chan Hon-yan Ryan and Amos Why acted as instructors to teach participants about filmmaking and guided them in telling their own stories using creative media.

This year, All About Us participants are youths from various countries of origin, including Nepal, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Japan, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Israel. The six shorts they produced range widely in subject matter, including campus comedies, action, police drama and even horror. These works showcase the boundless creativity and energy of ethnic minority youths. There will be an after-screening discussion, too. Audience are welcome to stay behind, discuss with the instructors and participants as well as share their trials and tribulations behind the making of their short films in order to learn about the lives and cultures of ethnic minority youths in Hong Kong.

Supported by
Sponsored by
In collaboration with
16/3/2013 (Sat) 11am | McAulay Studio | Free Admission | With after-screening discussion

《Killer X 2》

Hamza Ali, Umair Ali, Sami Usama Javed, Jahanzeb Haider, Usama Haider

7′ 37″ / Col & B/W / In Cantonese and Urdu with English subtitles

One day, Usama and Umair are playing basketball. Suddenly, Sami and Fai come. They also want to play basketball so they start to bully Usama and Umair. Then Umair calls Hamza and Jahan for help. A fighting between two parties begins… At the same time, this story is also based on ”Killer X Translator”, which is one of the “All About Us 2011” video production. Sami killed Chan Tai Man last year. But now Chan Tai Man is reborn and decides to take revenge…

Santiago Clause

Regienne Mae Zamora Bajala, Barua, Olique Kumar, Gonzalez, Joseph Anthony JR. F., Junie-Llene Flores Ifrah, Tavleen Kaur, Kubota Masaharu, Le Ngoc Tan, Harjot Singh, Harvin Singh, Singh Palvinderjit

7′ 48″ / Col / In English with English subtitles

"Santiago Clause" is a modern twist to the classic story of Santa Clause and takes place in a High School. Santiago, who is a trouble maker, likes bullying people to the extent where no one wants to be around his presence. One day, he was stumbling upon a new student at school, Julia. He was moved by her kindness when she stands up for a child he bullied. So he decided to change his ways… On the Christmas Eve, he disguised himself and went on a “Secret Mission” not only for those he had previously bullied before, but also for Julia…

The Doll

Chloe Denise Alquitran, Shannen Kyle Buxani, Gurung Sanjina, Kaur Navjot, Michelle Maninggo, Mohamed Nauzer Fathima Shadaa, Monima Pun, Purnima Singh

3′ 05″ / Col / In English with English subtitlesLinda is a teenager. Her mother just died and her father works very hard.

One day, they both attended a memorial. A stranger went up to Linda afterwards and gave Linda a doll that belonged to Linda’s mother. The doll repeatedly says ‘Don’t leave me alone’

That night, her father went on a business trip and she was left all alone. But she couldn’t sleep. She went into her parents’ room to look in a box of memories, leaving the doll behind…

The Day after Today is Another Day

Farooq Azam, Shoehb Hassan, Adeel Maroof, Mohammad Sohail, Shahul Hameed Nuaim, Anis Ur Rehman / 9′ 28″ / Col / In English with English subtitles

A boy, who is always late and annoying but always with new ideas, meets with his friends to do a project. He obviously thinks that this is the platform to prove himself and he starts bombarding the other members with his ideas. Their patience dries up. The boy gets alone…

Reflection

Ishtiak Rabaab Kiran, Prakriti Gurung, Rai Swarnim, Thapa Dipti, Thapa, Sarjeet Singh

6′ 39″ / Col & B/W / In English with English subtitles

A girl has suffered from much strange noise in her flat for two months but struggle to explain it. Not until an inspection of photo taken with her mobile phone for the same period of time, she finally realised that she is in fact not the one suffering but transforming.

The Dark Dream

Dhaliwal Anurag, Arjun Buduja, Iqbaljit Singh, Thapa Bishwash

  1. 7′ 57″ / Col & B/W / In English with English subtitles

It is a story about revenge, love and emotion. It began with a guy called Roy, who was an ex-police officer. He was now enjoying his stable life. One day, one of his enemies from his dark memory came back. He was the one who had been nearly arrested by Roy. His name was Jack. Jack planned to kidnap Roy’s brother. He wanted money from Roy. Roy did all the things that Jack asked for but Jack’s real target is not money. Jack was planning something which Roy was afraid of…

ifva experimental series
"Lost moments: experimental tendencies in Hong Kong films and videos between 1995-2005"

If the 1970s and 1980s represented a period when Hong Kong experimental films and videos were at the germination stage, then the next decade were years in which the medium reached full bloom. Hong Kong experimental films and videos since the 1990s, in terms of their subject matters, form and artistic styles, were greatly varied and displayed international vision. It was these two qualities that distinguished their unique cultural characteristics and mature identities. In contrast with the downhill path taken by the mainstream film industry since the mid-1990s, the burgeoning development on experimental films and videos in Hong Kong over the same period was all the more remarkable. Not only did the quality and quantity of works went up greatly during this time, talented artists also emerged, many of whom are still mainstays of the Hong Kong cultural and art scene today.

 

This eventful period contains a wealth of noteworthy personalities and memorable happenings, and "Lost moments: experimental tendencies in Hong Kong films and videos between 1995-2005" takes a look back at local experimental films and videos from the first ifva in 1995 to 2005. The three programs in the series will allow audiences the chance to revisit a seldom seen piece of Hong Kong cultural history through its experimental scene, and appreciate the vibrancy and variety of Hong Kong’s alternative film and video creations.

Programme 1 30/3 (Sat) 12:45pm agnès b. CINEMA Hong Kong 71’ HK$65#

Yuan Ping

Yu Lik-wai/ 1995 / 12′ 00″ / In Putonghua with no subtitles

The 1st ifva Awards - Experimental Category Silver Award

A former Beijing opera actor in the past, Yuan Ping “reconverts” himself into a travesty singer and now earns his living in a shabby circus. Behind the past-present duality is concealed a self-derision of a shattered dream. The soberly subversive disguise is only a facetious revolt against the social impasse.

A “cinematographic portrait” of a marginal figure in today’s China.

Hong Kong Road Movie

Fung Bing-fai/ 1996 / 29′ 00″ / In Cantonese and English, Chinese and English text with English subtitles

The 2nd ifva Awards - Documentary Category Distinguished Award

01-07-1997 will be historical…
30-06-1997 will be historical too…
How about 31-06-1997???
Any meaning???
Just an imagination? Or an expectation for a birthday present.
One person is here and one person is there…
we meet in cyber space…
This work is a cyber letter to the forthcoming generation.

The Circle’s Corner

Lam Kin-hung / 2001 / 30′ 00″ / In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles

The 7th ifva Awards - Grand Prize, Open Category Gold Award

The film presents a familiar place from the perspectives of three persons who are respectively born blind, mute and deaf. Representing the old, middle-aged and young, they share their life experience with audience and lead them to a brave new world of cinematic experience. The Circle’s Corner has no specific dramatis personae, not even visible actors; it, however, depicts the audience with familiar landscapes. With down-to-earth but uncommon shooting techniques, voice-over, location sound and bilingual subtitles in Chinese and English, it brings in a new angle of film presentation.

Programme 2 31/3 (Sun) 12:45pm agnès b. CINEMA Hong Kong 65’ HK$65#

Mean Meanings

Yuen Kin-to/ 1995 / 1′ 30″ / Chinese text with no dialogue and subtitles

The 1st ifva Awards - Animation Category Silver Award

Warning: This film contains offensive material which must not be distributed, circulated, sold, hired, given, lent, shown, played or projected to a person who enjoys his life.

Music Video III – Ding Dong (AIDS Virus)

Anson Mak/ 1995 / 6′ 00″ / In Cantonese with no subtitles

The 1st ifva Awards - Music Video Category Distinguished Award

Other than cinematic practices of story films, if we look into history of music video seriously, it has a strong connection with the conventions of documentary — Bob Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues in Don’t Look Back (1967) and experimental works — Oskar Fischinger (1930’s and 1940’s). This work aims to explore the overlapping areas for a new form of music video in HK in the early 1990’s. There is documentation of a talk by a doctor/specialist explaining his work analysing slides of virus and diseases related to HIV. Plus other images captured which intentionally being use in decontextualized ways. The music is created by a local band, Ding Dong by AMK in which the lyrics carry messages about being more socially and culturally conscious hoping for a better world. This was what the artist thought, vital in that era as well.

Getting Used to Run

Jamsen Law/ 1997 / 9′ 00″ / No dialogue and subtitles

The 3rd ifva Awards - Music Video Category Gold Award

What kind of psychological preparation do I need to make before I run? Does that mean I need to be ready to speed up, keep going, change, or escape? How would I feel after I get used to it? What would I think of if you ran? How would you feel if I ran? And how would it be if we ran?

Happy Valley (Waiting at T zero)

Chan Kam-lok/ 1997 / 20′ 00″ / In Cantonese with English subtitles

The 3rd ifva Awards - Grand Prize, Others Category Gold Award

A “documentary” about Happy Valley.

>You reproach me because each of my stories takes you right into the heart of a city without telling you of the space that stretches between one city and the other, whether it is covered by seas, or fields of rye, larch forest, swamps, I will answer you with a story.< (Invisible Cities – Italo Calvino)

Birth /Death of a Painter

Kwen Park-huen / 1998 / 9′ / In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles

The 4th ifva Awards - Special Prize (Film)

In a world where no other animals but human beings exist, a man was able to trace back the fading memories of his previous life before his death.

Transmigration

Hung Keung/ 1998 / 8′ 30″ / In Cantonese with no subtitles

The 4th ifva Awards - Others Category Gold Award

According to an old grandmother’s tale, the soul of a person wanders out of her body when she is asleep. Here, I try to imagine the soul of an old lady playing around, despite her being serious during her daily life. At the same time, I record the sound/ voice from 7 women sharing with us their precious experiences.

Invisible City (Wall)

Hui Nga-shu/ 1998 /11′ 00″ / In Cantonese and Putonghua with English subtitles

The 4th ifva Awards - Others Category Silver Award

Many things happen under the wall, and many people always talk with the wall just like Charlie Brown. This story is talking about the relationship of the wall, city, memory and history.

 Programme 31/4 (Mon) 12:45pm agnès b. CINEMA Hong Kong 75’ HK$65#

I’m Starving

Yau Ching / 1999 / 13′ 00″ / In English with Chinese subtitles

The 5th ifva Awards - Open Category Silver Award

I’m Starving is an erotic love tale between a ghost and a woman who share a small apartment in New York’s Chinatown. The ghost who eats paper money and Chinese takeout menus contrasts starkly with the woman who thrives on instant ramen noodles; both, haunted by their landlord, decide eventually to invent a future together.

Neon Goddesses

Yu lik-wai/ 1996 / 46′ 00″ / In Putonghua with English subtitles

The 2nd ifva Awards - Grand Prize, Documentary Category Gold Award

Three provincial girls debark in Beijing. Each tries to make her life in the capital. Yu Quin, with a degree in lyric arts, works as a bar hostess in a night-club frequented by the Nomeklatura, but retains a nostalgia for her past. Hu Jin, following her intuition, deserts her studies to seek her fortune in the labyrinthine city. Bit part player and model, her search is sown with misadventure. After several suicide attempts, Zun Ji, a repentant junkie, become a “dancing-queen” in Beijing’s discotheques. Rebellious and “devil may care”, she dances to forget her heavy past. Under the harsh light of the gaudy neons and through the sketches of their daily marginality, hopes are tainted with mockery.

Name of Wu Mei

Kong Khong-chang/ 2005 / 16′ 00″ / In Cantonese with English subtitles

The 11th ifva Awards - Open Category Special Mention

The story of this video is based on a short novel The Name of Wu-mei by Yuen Siu-cheong. Yuen uses an extraordinary narrative direction to present the story. The readers come to question the perception they get from the reading. The story is about the narrator – Nin Kuen who tells us the process of completing the novel The Name of Wu-mei. But how credible is his narration?

#Please refer to the 37th Hong Kong International Film Festival Programme & Booking Folder or the official website: www.hkiff.org.hk

ifva greenlab 2012-2013 Commission Project
Google Search Stories

The 18th ifva greenlab short film commission project is pleased to have Google as its creative partner. With Google’s search function as the starting point of the stories, three past ifva award-winners, Tsang Tsui-shan, Leung Ming-kai and Ng Ho-yin Chris, tell three life-altering and heartwarming tales: a metropolitan lady who survived a severe traffic accident tries to pick herself up by exploring the delicate relationship between food and human beings; an actress who grew up on foreign soil goes back to the home of her artistic career in search of her roots and dreams; a young and aspiring entrepreneur who combines Chinese culture with Western tourbillion technique works wonders in the field of domestic watch making.

Creative Partner

Search for the Taste Buds

Tsang Tsui-shan
Hong Kong / Col / 2' 30" / In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles

Search for the Dream of Red Pavilion

Leung Ming-kai
Hong Kong / Col / 2' 30" / In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles

Search for the Tourbillion

Ng Ho-yin Chris
Hong Kong / Col / 2' 30" / In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles

About ifva greenlab

In order to fully fulfill the role as an “incubator”, ifva founded the greenlab in 2006 by collaborating with various organisation to produce commission works. greenlab provides past winners or finalists of ifva with opportunities to hone their skills and to produce more creative works. This year, greenlab is pleased to have Google as its creative partner. ifva collaborated with the Employees Retraining Board and made 4 short films last year. These works will be shown along with the finalists at the 18th ifva festival.