Avant-Garde Films and Cinematic Reflections in Early Hong Kong

Description

Images Reflecting an Era-Early Avant-Garde Filmmaking in Hong Kong brings together four avant-garde films that reveal the changing social and cultural landscape of Hong Kong from the late 1960s through the 1980s. These works, recently acquired by M+ for its Asian Avant-Garde Film Circulation Library, showcase how filmmakers have used unconventional storytelling to express complex emotions and political realities.

Dead Knot (1969), directed by Sek Kei and produced by John Woo, delves into the turbulent emotions of youth through a tangled relationship between two men and a woman. Two films by Law Kar, created in the wake of the 1967 riots, offer a raw glimpse into everyday life and social struggles: Routine follows a continuous taxi ride across the city, while Begging features activist Paul Su portraying a homeless man, interwoven with philosophical reflections from Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching.

The programme also includes May Fung’s Thought IV: The Edge of the World (1989), a visually rich collage that explores Hong Kong’s shifting identity through images of highways, war, and nature. Together, these films represent different generations’ artistic responses to their times.

Following the screening, a discussion moderated by Li Cheuk-to, M+ Curator-at-large of Hong Kong Film and Media, will explore the filmmakers’ creative journeys and the evolution of Hong Kong’s avant-garde cinema. The conversation will be held in Cantonese with English interpretation, offering audiences a deeper understanding of this influential era in local film history.