The independent cinema will be hosting UAE’s first-ever six-day festival to celebrate Hong Kong Cinema from December 9 to 14, 2022.
Cinema Akil, the only independent cinema in the UAE, has announced a first-of-its-kind film festival to celebrate Hong Kong cinema.
The arthouse cinema will be hosting Making Waves – Navigators of Hong Kong Cinema from December 9 to 14. Presented by Create Hong Kong, the programme was successfully launched in Italy’s Udine in April and has since then travelled to Bali, London, Bangkok, Beijing, Hong Kong, Copenhagen, Sydney, Singapore, Seoul, Stockholm, Honolulu, Tokyo, and Prague. Cinema Akil’s take on the programme in Dubai will be the final stop. The cinema will also bring to Dubai four Hong Kong film directors to attend Q&A after the screenings of their respective films. Acclaimed actress, Lin Minchen, known for her work in Table for Six and One Second Champion, both of which are being screened at the festival, will also be attending the festival. Cinema lovers will also be able to appreciate the artistic creation of Hong Kong cinema through a specially curated photo exhibition that showcases the works of four renowned unit photographers, and will be held during the festival at Seeing Things Studio by Gulf Photo Plus.
The six-day extravaganza will kick off on December 9 with Chiu Sin-hang’s One Second Champion, one of the programme’s three directorial debuts, the others being Coba Cheng’s Chili Laugh Story and Ricky Ko’s Time. It will also treat local audiences to two light comedies: Sunny Chan’s Table for Six and Kearen Pang’s Mama’s Affair, as well as Longman Leung’s Anita, a biopic on the late Cantopop legend Anita Mui. Completing the programme are two newly restored classics, Days of Being Wild by Wong Kar Wai and Infernal Affairs by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. Directors Chiu Sin Hang, Kearen Pang, Coba Cheng, Ricky Ko and actress Lin Minchen will be attending their respective screenings in person to host Q&As. Quist Tsang, amongst the four unit photographers whose work is being featured at Gulf Photo Plus during the week, will attend the exhibition in person to interact with visitors on the ground.
Speaking about the event, Damian Lee, Director-General of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Dubai, said his office was thrilled to support the Making Waves programme and promote Hong Kong Cinema to audiences in Dubai. “We look forward to bringing Hong Kong’s latest generation of filmmaking talents, such as Sin-hang, Coba, Ricky, and Kearen, to come and share their creative experience in the UAE. We are delighted to collaborate with Cinema Akil and are sure the program will appeal to the loyal fanbase the cinema has garnered over the years. We are also happy to have Quist Tsang, one of the four featured artists of the photo exhibition, joining us in person.”
Cinema Akil founder Butheina Kazim added: “We are excited to work with a range of Hong Kong’s cultural institutions to showcase works by a host of emerging and established filmmakers to audiences in the Middle East. Our mission with Cinema Akil has always been to provide cinematic experiences that film lovers won’t often find anywhere else in the country. In doing so, we hope to support both global and local talent by ensuring they get the recognition they very much deserve. The photo exhibition is particularly fascinating as it allows our audiences to appreciate Hong Kong Cinema – dubbed Hollywood of the East – from different perspectives, often behind the scene.”
Making Waves – Navigators of Hong Kong Cinema will run from 9th-14th December at Cinema Akil.
