Feast on an exclusive season of contemporary
films from Hong Kong's leading filmmakers.

Presented by the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office
in association with the Australian Film Institute.

ABOUT THE 1999 FESTIVAL: The second annual Hong Kong Film Festival in Australia was held in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in late 1999. The program presented a selection of Hong Kong film highlights from 1998 and 1999. In addition to the nine-film program, festival guests Jacob Cheung and Shaun Tam (Ti Lung) hosted a special AFI Conversation on Film in Sydney (Wednesday 24 November) and Melbourne (Thursday 25 November) following the opening night screenings of their film The Kid. The films shown at the festival were: Beast Cops (Anthony Wong, Michael Wong & Kathy Chow. Dir. Gordon Chan), a police drama that swept the Hong Kong Film Awards, dealing with cops, triads, and one man who stands in the middle; Expect the Unexpected (Lau Ching Wan, Simon Yam & Yoyo Mung. Dir. Patrick Yau), an astounding crime film which opens with bang after bang, and then alternates between upbeat and hardhitting; Hitman (Jet Li, Eric Tsang & Gigi Leung. Dir. Stephen Tung), a playful action-comedy-drama powered by Li's astounding kung fu kicks; The Kid (Leslie Cheung, Qi Qi & Shaun Tam. Dir. Jacob Cheung), a heartwarming Hong Kong update of the Chaplin classic; The Longest Summer (Tony Ho, Sam Lee & Jo Kuk. Dir. Fruit Chan), a powerful Handover film about five Chinese soldiers mustered out of the British army, blending real events with fictional; Moonlight Express (Leslie Cheung & Tokako Tokiwa. Dir. Daniel Lee), a candy-coloured Hong Kong / Japanese co-production which mixes action with romance with effervescent results; Ordinary Heroes (Rachel Lee, Lee Kang-Sheng & Anthony Wong. Dir. Ann Hui), a moving drama of one woman's life, loves and politics, leading to the betrayal of Marxist ideology at Tian'anmen Square; The Storm Riders (Aaron Kwok, Ekin Cheng, Sonny Chiba & Kristy Yeung. Dir. Andrew Lau), a delirious CGI-enhanced sword and sorcery fest which shows that no one can make a fantasy film like Hong Kong; and Tempting Heart (Takeshi Kaneshiro, Gigi Leung & Karen Mok. Dir. Sylvia Chang), a canto-romance about love's choices, starring three of the most popular stars in Hong Kong today. HELP WANTED! I would love to include your thoughts, comments, reviews and ramblings on the 1999 festival - what you saw and what you reckoned. So, please send me a mail while it's fresh in your mind and give me the lowdown on your Hong Kong Film Festival experience! FOR MORE INFORMATION: Special guests page This page provides biographies and pictures of festival guests Jacob Cheung and Shaun Tam (Ti Lung). Conversation on Film page Here is my transcript of the Conversation on Film held in Melbourne with Jacob Cheung and Ti Lung, translated on the night by Stephen Teo. Film summaries page Here you will find a synopsis, brief production credits, details of awards and film posters for each film screened at the festival. Reports page Here you can read what people had to say about the festival - there are reports from Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Please contribute! Reviews page This page has my nine-paragraph guide to the Festival fare. 1998 Festival This page is a summary of the films and guests at the 1998 festival. Australian Film Institute website The AFI presented the festival in both 1998 and 1999. On their official site you will find additonal information and film synopses.

 

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