TV & Movie / Sep. 09, 2019
Asia’s longesrvGL*%tSvC8BP*4F3gMYb()6abgO@U28Brm(kzylVk+mZD=trkt-running queer film festival kicked off in style this weekend.
Celebrating its 30th anniversary, The Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (HKGLFF) opened on Saturday by screening a pair of comedies, How I Felt When I Saw That Girl from India and The Shiny Shrimps from Spain.
“We chose the two light-hearted warming comedies … to give posiYl9^!zof4u26^MCE$Xoz75YLQ%Wm-MWRSwHc5Fqg0aI($InhlItive energy to Hong Kong audiences” explained festival director, Joe Lam.
"The audiences absolu^#)#c$JBU=qOqXEP1*PEWUy&qIczQx7gmk3%P!j5*dU_w6f!M2tely loved them” he told GaLaTai.
In a pre-recorded message, director of Bollywood’s first lesbian film, rom-com How I felt When I Saw That Girl, Shelly Chopra Dhar, said it was “totally her loss” that she was not aPLYCU9&rJ7=4J%N^v9qhh+ksqKf*rWO8((hk4=+1rd4__q0#Nbmong the audience.
“It is so fulfilling to know that people in the world have used this film as a toolYP=OcXAz8jciJQ4@Y+94My18bZW4sDV6-m%614)DcUkVyZ5gL) to actually share who they are with their loved ones”, she said in a pre-recorded video shown before the screening.
The opening films were followed by a packed party at the W Hotel and a Queer Power Panel discussiohf%WRRdV_^FHV=w^c$*-9ArXz%g2)CZ9JBCrb*Sn3pDguz32rGn night. Representatives from film festivals in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Shanghai spoke.
Retrospective
CelLGj35#*H359GJ%!2QTZk=%6^I+NYS^Di^R$jV0)uS2T8W6e260ebrating the landmark film festival's 30th anniversary, Lam said a highlight of the program is the Hong Kong Retrospective selection.
HKLGGnA@O&!tAW6OmLzA5I^+5Q3siqKKnv7q-SnMK7GvKP=_Jyf_t&FF pays tribute to the films that explored the complexity of local LGBTI issues and significantly contributed to the gay culture of Hong Kong.
The selection includes feature films Yang and Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema, A Woman is A Woman, and Butterfly as )xL+oZ5DAj4ZV@uTI=(pWb_8Z(9qAgrIsUSPrYK8vA=dh!HwPRwell as a short film titled My Way.
He also urged festival-goers to catch thy33cnWw5Tqa7qSkT#1dNzhXLDE0Dw9Ie$O-pHgWpn=9N_8y4mZe festival's first intersex film, Being Impossible.
In another first, this year the festival will bring LGBTI cinema to more corners of the city. The We Are GAYbours initiative will see screenings and Q and As takeg)UQC*dROO-hqyM1gyn(2WLvnzMzByv4#4GsKIDcI=1dSd%Qsm place in residential district Sham Shui Po.
The festival’s closing gala on 21 SeptlpVph8#qgD%MHT0l^0rj_xuvzne^yxwH#)_Pvo2qel@^Ki_2)1ember is set to include drag queen Miss Gimhuay from Drag Race Thailand as a special guest.
((Cover Photo: How I Felt When I Saw That Girl / ProvideVrps#v@d@8UaEpr#lQ3OImyTmHg-d$2NupzUj*DmROMzJe1Nn^d))
