50th Hong Kong French Film Festival

EVENT DESCRIPTION

Hong Kong French Film Festival (HKFFF) celebrates its 50^th edition this year, marking an important milestone of the festival with more than 5 decades of history in Hong Kong.

Organized by the Alliance Française de Hong Kong, the 50^th Hong Kong French Film Festival will run from 24^th November to 14^th December, 2021 across 5 cinemas in Hong Kong with more than 110 screenings. Despite ongoing global pandemic and its impact on film industry, the festival team strived to secure a great selection of more than 50 French films in this special edition. The highlights of the festival will feature more than 26 new releases including a curation of 4 documentaries for Cinema for the Climate and 27 timeless classics throughout 50 years of French cinema.

From France to Hong Kong – Opening Films & Hong Kong Premiere

There will be two opening films in this special edition, featuring Eiffel by Martin Bourboulon and Titane by Julia Ducournau giving French film lovers a taste of France and Cannes Film Festival. With the support of local distributors and partners, the festival team is bringing Hong Kong cinephiles the long-awaited biopic Aline, the Voice of Love Aline about Celine Dion and a must-see comedy Some Like It Rare (Barbaque) about butcher killing a vegan tourist in an accident.  

Festival Exclusives

The festival is presenting more than 26 new releases from 2020 to 2021, dedicated to bringing the best, and the newest French cinema to Hong Kong cinema lovers in spite of this challenging environment. The new releases selection covers from comedy to thriller and from documentaries to literary adaptation.

As a tribute to female directors, there will be a total of ten films directed by award winning and up and coming female directors. In addition to Titane and Aline, the selection includes Above Water (Marcher sur l’eau), Bigger than us, A Radiant Girl (Une Jeune Fille Qui Va Bien), Haute Couture, Peaceful( De Son Vivant), Rose, Simple Passion, Zero Fucks Given (Rien A Foutre).

Cinema for the Climate

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Greenpeace and the 50th edition Hong Kong French Film Festival, the organisations join hands to present the program “Cinema for the Climate” from November 24th – December 14th, 2021.

Greenpeace East Asia and the festival have co-curated a selection of four documentaries, Above Water (Marcher sur l’eau), Animal, Bigger than us, and Legacy (Legacy, notre héritage) with a mission to raise environmental awareness through cinema. These documentaries feature voices and stories of young climate campaigners and shine a light on issues such as climate change and threats to biodiversity.

50 years of French Cinema

Since 1953, the festival has brought more than 1600 French films to Hong Kong French Film lovers through 50 editions of Hong Kong French Film Festival.  The curation of the 50 years of French Cinema selection is a collection of 27 French film classics. Out of the 27 timeless pieces, four of this selection will feature productions directed by Maurice Pialat, including Loulou, Under The Sun Of Satan (Sous Le Soleil De Satan), Van Gogh and We Won’t Grow Old Together (Nous Ne Vieillirons Pas Ensemble).

The 50^th edition of Hong Kong French Film Festival is more than a milestone for the festival itself but also sharing a collective memory for all the French film lovers out there. The festival hereby give our heartfelt thank you to all the partners, cinephiles and media friends for their support throughout 5 decades. Bon festival !

ABOUT THE ARTIST / ORGANISER

Alliance Française de Hong Kong is committed to the promotion of French cinema since its establishment in 1953, the same year it organized the first French Film Festival. That edition was the pioneer in Hong Kong, making it the oldest film festival in the city. Since then, the festival has always brought the latest films to Hong Kong. As a pioneer in film festivals, Alliance Française de Hong Kong has screened over 1,600 acclaimed French films since 1953. The 50th edition will continue to bring the latest and the best of French Cinema to Hong Kong film lovers.