Tag: film

Disney+ To Launch In Hong Kong This November

Disney+ the streaming home for films and television shows from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Star and National Geographic will launch locally in November.

Currently available in 61 countries and 21 languages globally as well as classic series and films Disney+ releases lots of original content; recent shows include Marvel Studios’ WandaVision, Loki and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier; Star Wars’ series The Mandalorian; Pixar’s Luca, National Geographic’s Secrets of the Whales.

There has been no announcement of the local cost or if programmes will be available with a Cantonese soundtrack or subtitles. In the US Disney+ is US$7.99/month, $79.99/year.

disney plus mandelorian

Revolution of Our Times 時代革命 to Screen at Cannes Film Festival

Described as ‘a film by HongKongers’, the Festival de Cannes will screen Kiwi Chow’s documentary Revolution of Our Times 時代革命 about the 2019 protests against the extradition law.

“I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Cannes. It is our honour to have the world premiere of Revolution of our Times Hong Kong has been losing far more than anyone has expected. This good news will be a comfort to many HongKongers who live in fear; it also shows that whoever fights for justice and freedom around the world, are with us! And HongKongers are staying strong!” said Chow in an email statement about the film’s inclusion in the festival.

This is how the film’s trailer is introduced on YouTube…

//“Hong Kong is on the frontlines of a global battle for freedom.” TIME Magazine

Over the past fifty years, Hongkongers have fought for freedom and democracy but have yet to succeed. In 2019, the “Extradition Bill” to China opened a Pandora’s box, turning Hong Kong into a battlefield against the Chinese authoritarian rule.

The award-winning director of “Ten Years: Self Immolator,” Kiwi Chow, made this documentary to tell the story of the movement, both with a macro view of its historical context and up close and personal on the front lines.

The 2019 movement is always labelled with the characteristics of “decentralized leadership”, “be water” (flexible tactics), “do not split” (unity but in different ways) and “blossoming everywhere” (protest all over the territory). The film covers seven teams of protestors with different stories which are put together as a comprehensive picture of the versatile movement.

Democracy and freedom are now facing an unprecedented crisis over the world. The film Revolution of Our Times is not only about the battle of Hongkongers but is about a war between all freedom lovers and dictatorships of our globe.//

Coverage of the documentary’s addition to the festival by Variety

//Cannes this year is chock full of issue-led programming about climate change, crises in Africa, diversity and equality. Few topics are as pressing or complex as the ideological clash between the liberal West and China’s modern brand of Communist-badged totalitarianism…

…Cannes is taking a significant gamble in giving the film the red carpet treatment. At a minimum, the festival risks a diplomatic complaint from mainland Chinese and Hong Kong authorities. China was previously so enraged by the Academy of Motion Pictures’ nomination of “Do Not Split” that the Chinese broadcast of the Oscars ceremony was cancelled and media were ordered to downplay the event.

It is likely that Cannes organizers have anticipated a negative reaction.

They’ve chosen to play “Revolution of Our Times” at the end of the festival, when the trio of mainland Chinese films have already played and can’t be withdrawn in protest. But there’s now a risk that China will boycott future editions of Cannes, just as it is punishing the Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan for the island’s go-it-alone tendencies.

One explanation for the inclusion of the film may lie in Cannes programmers Thierry Fremaux and Christian Jeune’s visit to Hong Kong during the protests. Walking through the battlefield of the streets, they became eye-witnesses to a painful but cinematic civil war.//

More coverage by The Hollywood Reporter

//Cannes has frequently stood with filmmakers facing political persecution in their home countries, such as Iranian director Jafar Panahi (This Is Not a Film) and Russian filmmaker Kirill Serebrennikov (Petrov’s Flu), both of whom were under house arrest and unable to attend the festival when their films were screened.

But Hong Kong’s protest movement has found precious few allies over the past two years, as Beijing has leveraged China’s outsize economic clout to attempt to punish any companies or individuals who dare throw their support behind democracy in Hong Kong…

…Hong Kong politics also are believed to have resulted in the 2021 Oscars ceremony being totally blocked from broadcast in mainland China and Hong Kong earlier this year. Broadcasters and regulators never supplied a reason for the mysterious suspension of the awards show in Greater China, but many connected to the industry believe it was intended as retribution for the Academy’s nomination of the Hong Kong protest film Do Not Split in the best short documentary category (past critical comments made by Oscar best director winner Chloe Zhao (Nomadland) about her home country also irked the authorities).//

images: Dear Bros

MCL Amoy Theatre

The new MCL Amoy Theatre opens in Kowloon Bay on 15 July. The three-screen complex has 603 seats and features as MCL puts it “the latest and best in cinema experience”. Each auditorium is equipped with 4K Laser projectors and Dolby Atmos sound. Opening ticket prices are $60

MCL Amoy Theatre
G/F, Phase III, Amoy Plaza,
77 Ngau Tau Kok Road,
Kowloon Bay,
Hong Kong

Cancellation of Taiwan Equals Love Screening

The documentary Taiwan Equals Love has been pulled from the EU-Asia Rainbow Docs festival after the Film Censorship Authority refused to authorise the screening of the full documentary, Broadway Cinematheque announced.

The organisers of the ‘EU-Asia Rainbow Docs’ regret to announce that the scheduled full-length documentary “Taiwan Equals Love” will no longer be screened.

The Film Censorship Authority did not authorise the screening of the full documentary. We jointly decided to cancel the screenings of the film, in accordance with our agreed policy not to screen censored films in this programme.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

In May 2019, Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage. Director Yan Zhexuan’s documentary Taiwan Equals Love chronicles the LGBTQ+ community’s fight for this landmark achievement.

Humanising the struggle through the portrayal of three LGBTQ couples from three generations facing different legal and social challenges but all with the same dream of getting married. Their perspectives provide an intimate context and address the question of why this fight for equality and dignity is so important for millions of LGBTQ people everywhere.

EU-Asia Rainbow Docs
Date: 30 June-11 July, 2021
Venues: Broadway Cinematheque
Tickets: $95 from www.cinema.com.hk/en/movie/special/19

New MCL Citygate Theatre in Tung Chung Opens

A new MCL Citygate Theatre opens in Tung Chung today. The four-screen complex has 673 seats and features as MCL puts it “the latest and best in cinema experience”. Each auditorium is equipped with 4K Laser projectors and Dolby 7.1 surround sound audio. Opening ticket prices are $80

MCL Citygate Theatre
6/F, 20 Tat Tung Road,
Tung Chung,
Hong Kong

 

EU-Asia Rainbow Docs

EU-Asia Rainbow Docs presents a series of screenings and talks with the aim of providing local audiences with insights into the global LGBTI+ community.

Presented by the European Union Office to Hong Kong and Macao and the Goethe-Institut Hongkong, in association with Broadway Cinematheque, the festival includes 12 documentary features and 4 shorts.

The programme assembles documentaries cutting in from different perspectives, showing the lives of groups with different ages, ethnicities and religious backgrounds, recording their intimate struggles and the same yearning for an equal world.

EU-Asia Rainbow Docs
Date: 30 June-11 July, 2021
Venues: Broadway Cinematheque
Tickets: $95 from www.cinema.com.hk/en/movie/special/19