9 March, 2010 (Hong Kong) – The Hong Kong International Film Festival Society (HKIFFS) proudly launches two prominent World Premieres this month at the 34th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF): Fire of Conscience directed by renowned action film director Dante Lam (Beast Stalker), featuring superstars Leon Lai and Richie Ren; and Love in a Puff directed by the multi-talented director and novelist Pang Ho-cheung (Isabella), with the hot Cantopop stars Miriam Yeung and Shawn Yu.
The Gala Premieres will be held on 23 and 24 March respectively at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. In attendance will be the directors and cast members of the films. This year, the HKIFF plays host to 24 world premieres - up twenty percent on last year, with eight Hong Kong productions and double the total number of Hong Kong films at the Festival compared to 2009.
Shaw Soo Wei, Executive Director of HKIFFS said, “As the HKIFF continues to grow in its global appeal to the international film community, we have not lost sight of the importance to ensure that the Festival continues to provide Hong Kong’s filmmakers the spotlight to launch new works drawing the attention of global media and audiences. We are delighted to present the World Premieres of these two Hong Kong films on this world stage.”
Fire of Conscience is the latest feature film from Hong Kong Film Award winning director Dante Lam. The film is noted for the extreme change of pace that it represents for its lead actors, both of whom tackle roles in stark contrast to their previous onscreen personas; Leon Lai sheds his clean-cut matinee idol look, becoming scarcely recognisable as a scruffy, bearded, streetwise cop who is handy with his fists. Richie Ren, no stranger to action fare, plays a cerebral investigator with an overactive sense of paranoia.
Pang Ho-cheung’s ninth feature Love in a Puff could hardly be more local or topical, as this love story hinges around Hong Kong’s smoking ban; Miriam Yeung and Shawn Yu are a pair of smokers at the heart of the story, and these Cantopop stars make a bold move by appearing in a Category III movie. There is great anticipation at how audiences will react to ‘squeaky-clean’ popstars playing cynical anti-heroes.
The 34th HKIFF runs from 21 March to 6 April, 2010. Tickets for the 34th HKIFF are now available to the public online. Online purchasers and Citibank credit card holders enjoy a 10% discount. Ticket sales at all URBTIX outlets will commence from 11 March, 2010. Ticket sales and a full list of film titles can be viewed online at http://www.hkiff.org.
About HKIFF
The HKIFF is one of Asia’s most reputable platforms for filmmakers, film professionals and filmgoers from all over the world to launch new works and experience outstanding films.
Screening over 240 titles from over 50 countries in 11 major cultural venues across the territory, the Festival is Hong Kong’s largest cultural event that reaches an audience of over 590,000 including 4,500 business executives who attend Hong Kong Film and Television Market (FILMART), a concurrent event of the HKIFF. The 34th HKIFF will be held from 21 March to 6 April 2010.
Committed to discovering new talent, the Festival premieres the breadth of Chinese cinema and showcases Asian talent. As a lifestyle event, festival-goers can enjoy world-class films, attend seminars hosted by leading filmmakers from around the world, visit film exhibitions, join celebration parties, and more. For more information, please visit www.hkiff.org.
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Annex:
Fire of Conscience and Love in a Puff
at the 34th HKIFF Gala Premiere
| Film |
Director/Cast |
Details |
Synopsis |
Fire of Conscience
(World Premiere) |
Dir:
Dante Lam
Cast:
Leon Lai
Richie Ren
Wang Baoqiang |
Date: 23 March
Time: 9:45pm
Venue: Hong Kong Convention
and Exhibition Centre |
Leon Lai is Man Fong, a street-wise cop of few words who gets things done with his fists. Richie Ren’s Inspector Ji is the smart careerist cop in a suit and a fancy car. Both have a fire burning inside: Man Fong for his dead wife, and the Inspector for his wife, a woman with a history. A murder case brings them together, and the inspector’s helping hand slowly wins over Man Fong. But when things go seriously wrong with mass destruction weapons from China and lots of dead local cops, Man Fong wonders if he shouldn’t have trusted his first instincts about Ji. Dante Lam, Hong Kong’s best for action thrillers, serves another ace. |
Love in a Puff
(World Premiere)
|
Dir:
Pang Ho-cheung
Cast:
Miriam Yeung
Shawn Yue
Cheung Tat-ming |
Date: 24 March
Time: 9:45pm
Venue: Hong Kong Convention
and Exhibition Centre |
The pretext to romance can’t be cleverer: two people brought together thanks to the smoking ban. She sells cosmetics and he’s an ad man, and they meet at a street corner where fellow smokers gather to puff away and mouth venom. Director Pang and co-writer Heiward Mak have crafted a romantic comedy that’s a rarity: capturing reality. The leading duo and the supporting roles are all “Me Generation” smartasses: mean, opportunistic, and smugly addicted to commercial culture’s poison of “sex” and “romance”. The film tells a “romantic” story of two such creatures and gleefully bares their soulless souls. |
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