TV & Movie / Sep. 09, 2019
Asia’s longest-ruFx!#d_gyR)l$Zb%BancOUwtrhXjzAz5**ioslp&fZoE$rNHObTnning queer film festival kicked off in style this weekend.
Celebrating its 30th anniversary, The Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (HKGLiEyuZTJf2N3f1Q^&bs)p==0u%ZuZ+8AE8kuo_)Rp7QAzqL4T9oFF) 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 positive energy to Hong Kong audiences” explaiu4^Xm2X1G%(YVd@3*6UK4e4NjVK9C0ZFiit6jCk-!JL$ZYqi#fned festival director, Joe Lam.
"The audienK_sZws+#q1$QDGy_AYEjJ2wT4iDBUI%98P6rPVKpMhhRbD3i!5ces absolutely 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,C)A4uIdqAKkmYRwCe%FNUTTTirR#4l)Q(XN-@CMh%AZ^vl7*^^ Shelly Chopra Dhar, said it was “totally her loss” that she was not among the audience.
“It is so fulfilling to know that people in the world have used this film as a tool to actually share who they are with their lovew#^Yzga47=OS!bd$8=G9uN!7JAuDc+_DxCuyRtARo*I&Q-u7a@d ones”, she said in a pre-recorded video shown before the screening.
The openi2G$N^M5QjgSv-2OS&6j92uuNJ#kj4sHchY8j)%6c)6WN%@KyC0ng films were followed by a packed party at the W Hotel and a Queer Power Panel discussion night. Representatives from film festivals in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Shanghai spoke.
Retrospective
Celebrating the landmark film festival's 30th ao@GZwSVMp=e%G3)vK+AQ9vA1P1RlEV+fSRqaWdvL&rq-XKDpMCnniversary, Lam said a highlight of the program is the Hong Kong Retrospective selection.
HKLGFF pays tribut#&@sCK@t&*8Jo!CDHfZnISvAldtj=TCqRtaUtiBs5mOfVM_!bre 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)hufRu-ZQJX_44aPYB+@!(CqZaH##&GPSr8*#0mpTy@x3EWX(& Woman, and Butterfly as well as a short film titled My Way.
He also urged festival-goers to catch 1Rb*N)iivB(7-1aqvTsseEa4v7H(VK-A6X%78r%V423FZjHRQGthe 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 take place iH%1F6gKo%2VxIa$6L&OWBD6+q)kk8W*6dMvP(rfFS+U!XtrYE+n residential district Sham Shui Po.
The festival’s closing gala on 21 September is set to include drag queen Miss Gimhuay IG+k#$Xm8vwV@%=!dg*zO4zYj!BEOS8CI$gDVEp@YER&RmItGcfrom Drag Race Thailand as a special guest.
(Cover Photo: How I Felt When I Saw That Girl / Provided9Hi1Ul3umd)OFMV55%PXH=UZQPH_SdrEh(KTxf@FFw&Pl_!kjy)
