From Summer Pops to immortal Classics, there is much to anticipate in Summer IFF 2008

What does summer mean to Hong Kongers? Weather-wise, it means hot, humid days that – especially with this June being the wettest on record – are increasingly rain-filled. Days during which it might be a good idea to spend significant amounts of time in cool theatres, taking in screenings of the range of films that strike your fancy.

Perhaps for that reason, it has occurred to more than one film festival organizer to schedule an event during this season, something for which local cineastes can be truly grateful – especially since, as with the case of the HK International Film Festival Society’s Summer IFF 2008, what is on offer is a genuine alternative to the Hollywood blockbuster fare that dominates mainstream programming. Additionally, since the third edition of this now annual festival begins on August 8 and runs through to September 15, it can be looked upon as counter-programming vis a vis the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

Long known for its promotion of local films, the Summer IFF’s parent HK International Film Festival (HKIFF) has, in recent years, also become a showcase for Mainland cinema. This is a trend the Summer IFF 2008 carries further: For even while its programme of 33 films include their share of international movies (among them Francis Ford Coppola’s Youth Without Youth (2007) and Golden Bear-winning Brazilian crime drama Elite Squad (2008)), a trio of Chinese language films take pride of place in the fest’s 16-film Summer Pops section.

Although Ocean Flame (2008) was produced by local actor Simon Yam and billed as a Hong Kong production in the 2008 Cannes Film Festival catalogue, the Summer IFF 2008’s official opening film was co-scripted and directed by Mainland Chinese filmmaker Liu Fengdou (Green Hat) and adapted from a novel by Beijinger Wang Shuo. Telling the tale of a petty criminal who corrupts an innocent young woman, its official Cannes selection version was panned by critics. That version was variously estimated as running for 118, 130 or 136 minutes but the version to play at the HK festival is just 98 minutes – Ocean Flame may well be one of those works redeemed by additional editing.

Somewhat ironically, the two works that will have gala premieres at the Summer IFF 2008 were originally scheduled to make their world premieres at this year’s HKIFF, only to be withdrawn for reasons which included issues of censorship. Since then Zhang Yibai’s Lost, Indulgence (2008) has played at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival. With local luminaries Eason Chan, Karen Mok and Eric Tsang in its cast, this dramatic examination of grief and the transition to adulthood also stars acclaimed Mainland actress Jiang Wenli. For its part, A Decade of Love (2008) is coming here after a screening at the recent Shanghai International Film Festival. Made up of a series of short stories about human entanglements in the Fragrant Harbour, this work represents the efforts of 10 Hong Kong directors (including Wong Ching Po, Aubrey Lam and Marco Mak) to examine insider views of, and feelings about, their home territory.

While some will be hankering to get into these long-awaited first Hong Kong screenings, others with a preference for older gems will be making a beeline for films in the Summer Classics section of the festival. Five of these (including Smiles of a Summer Night (1955) and the seminal The Seventh Seal (1957)) are a continuation of this year’s HKIFF’s Ingmar Bergman Forever retrospective. Meanwhile, the eight films by Japanese master Kon Ichikawa include his deeply humane The Burmese Harp (1956), the sure to shock – even some five decades on – Punishment Room (1956), harrowing anti-war classic Fires on the Plain (1959) and part-satire, part-camp An Actor’s Revenge (1963); all making a strong case for their director being in the same illustrious class as Japanese cinema’s big three of Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi and Yasujiro Ozu.

The Summer IFF 2008 runs from August 8 to September 15 at five screenings venues. Tickets are $60 each from URBTIX, 2734 9009. For further details (including individual screening dates, times and venues), please refer to our Listings section.