Hong Kong films to take center stage

The wide range of Hong Kong's film industry will be on display this month in San Francisco.

The fourth annual Hong Kong Film Festival will be held Nov 14-16 at the Vogue Theatre in San Francisco.

"Over the past few decades, many of Hong Kong's film talents, actors, directors and producers have received international recognition," said Subrina Chow, director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in San Francisco, the festival's sponsor.

"While we are proud of the achievements of the Hong Kong film industry, we also welcome filmmakers from around the world to come shoot and produce their films in Hong Kong."

The festival will showcase eight Hong Kong movies of different genres, including The Golden Era, From Vegas to Macao, The Midnight After, Aberdeen, Uncertain Relationships Society, The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom, Overheard 3 and Wong Kar-wai's Chungking Express.

It will be the US premiere for Uncertain Relationships Society and The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom.

The retrospective presentation of Wong's evergreen Chungking Express will mark the 20th anniversary of the film's screening.

One of the movies drawing attention from the public is The Golden Era, selected as the closing film of this year's Venice Film Festival. Directed by Hong Kong New Wave master filmmaker Ann Hui, the film tells the tragic tale of novelist Xiao Hong, a prominent writer in the 1930s and early 1940s.

"With the invaluable support of HKETO, we are pleased to be able to present a wide array of the inimitable style and smarts that has made the sterling reputation of the cinema of Hong Kong," said Sean Uyehara, programmer of the San Francisco Film Society.

With the festival's action and crime thrillers, romance and comedy, martial arts epics and family dramas, Uyehara is looking forward to the audience's response.

zilian@chinadailyusa.com