It has always been the core mission for ifva to promote independent creations. In celebration of ifva’s second decade, the perfect time now comes to reflect on the past, reinforce the spirit of ifva and inspire the coming generations of film practitioners as to stay true to their dreams they start out with. It is precisely the unique voices of the creators that matter for the spirit for independent creation, and equally important is to value each idea and to fuel the passion for creativity.
Independent spirit is embodied in our lives and other artistic disciplines. Given the hostile local social environment, how can creative practitioners working across different media respond to their constant challenges and stay true to themselves? How has indie production in Hong Kong progressed? What roles does new technology play? Would independent spirit create contradiction within mainstream commercial industry?

From October to December 2014, Jimmy Choi will curate a series of seminars entitled “ifva+ Independent Reboot” to share the views of various cultural workers on diverse topics and discuss future development of independent production.

Curator: Jimmy Choi (Curator of cultural events, co-founder of ifva and previously the department head of film and video production at the Hong Kong Arts Centre)

 

Venue：Hong Kong Arts Centre

Remarks: The list of guest speakers is not arranged in any particular order; for the latest updates, please keep an eye on this page.
All programmes are subject to changes without prior notice and the contents do not reflect the views of the Organiser.

Indie films matter not only to audience and the film producers. Under the banner of “Independent Spirit”, filmmakers and video makers are able to express, create, and react to happenings around them with greater freedom. But what has this got to do with the general public watching mainstream films? How can indie filmmakers make themselves matter to those beyond their own industry besides providing alterative entertainment? What is the role of indie films in our society? With their engagements in social matters through various means and to different extents, independent film practitioners will look into these issues drawing from their own experiences.

Venue: agnès b. CINEMA (UB, Hong Kong Arts Centre)
Date: 10 / 10 / 2014 (Fri)
Time: 7:30pm
Moderator:

Jimmy Choi (Curator of cultural events, co-founder of ifva and previously the department head of film and video production at the Hong Kong Arts Centre)

Guests:

Ng Ho-yin (Director of the short film Meeting of the Half Moons)
Lo Chun-yip (Independent Film Director and Actor)
Representative from v-artivist (Focus on producing documentaries to help local communities and activities that serve to popularise the arts in communities.)

There is this view that a seasoned film promoter would just be responsible for idea execution and loose their edges once co-opted to the mainstream cinema— does this hold true at all? What does mainstream mean to indies today? What would film critic, mainstream film distributor and producer, as well as independent filmmaker say about that? How can directors negotiate their ways between independent production and commercial interests? Each guest will examine traces from mainstream films for answers.

Venue: agnès b. CINEMA (UB, Hong Kong Arts Centre)
Date: 7 / 11 / 2014 (Fri)
Time: 7:30pm
Moderator: Longtin (Film Critic, Writer and Curator)
Guests:

Ann Hui (Renowned Hong Kong Film Director)
Heiward Mak (Director, Scriptwriter, Dumb Youth Productions and Entertainment Creator)

An independent spirit is essential for many artistic disciplines and throughout our daily lives. Taking such a spirit beyond films and videos in this open event, discussion topics come from cross-examination of the new and well-established members in four closely-knitted industries to discover what independent spirit means today in film, theater, music and new media. How does independent spirit manifest in and react to Hong Kong’s current situation? What is its current state and future development?

Venue: McAulay Studio (LB, Hong Kong Arts Centre)
Date: 16 / 12 / 2014 (Tue)
Time: 7:30pm
Moderator: May Fung (Veteran art education promoter, Arts Advisor and Examiner of Hong Kong Arts Development Council)
Guests:

Vincent Chui (Independent Filmmaker and Actor)
Chai Ziwen (General Secretary of Renaissance Foundation)
Kattie Fan (ifva Director)
Ellen Pau (Video Artist and Founder of Videotage and Microwave Festival)
Edwin Lo (Sound Artist)
Ho Ying-fung (Founder of Theatre Fanatico and Ho Bit Goon)
Wong Ahkok (Independent Musician, Advocate for creative revitalisation of industrial districts and once Spokesperson for Revitalization Internalise Partnership)
Mok Chiu-yiu (A theatre veteran. Mok has actively involved in different cultural and arts projects)
Wong Chi-chung (A culture veteran who has been devoted himself to music, media, art and education for more than 20 years)