48th Hong Kong International Film Festival
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 HKIFF official poster | |
| Opening film | All Shall Be Well by Ray Yeung |
|---|---|
| Closing film | All the Long Nights by Sho Miyake |
| Location | Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong City Hall, M+, iSQUARE, Times Square, Elements[1] |
| Founded | 1977 |
| Awards |
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| Hosted by |
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| No. of films | 190 |
| Festival date | Opening: March 28, 2024 Closing: April 8, 2024 |
| Website | HKIFF 2024 |
The 48th Hong Kong International Film Festival (Chinese: 第48屆香港國際電影節) took place from 28 March to 8 April 2024. Fruit Chan was selected as the Filmmaker in Focus for this edition and masterclasses led by Víctor Erice and Martin McDonagh were featured.
The festival opened with the Hong Kong LGBTQ-themed drama All Shall Be Well by Ray Yeung and closed with the Japanese drama All the Long Nights by Sho Miyake. This year, 190 films from 62 countries were screened, including five world premieres, six international premieres, and sixty-four Asian premieres. Karena Lam was chosen as the new ambassador of the HKIFF starting this edition, succeeding Aaron Kwok, who served for the past five years.
The theme of the 48th Hong Kong International Film Festival is "A Portal to Another World".[1][2] The festival's poster features a Hong Kong street with neon signs as the backdrop, while a brightly colored film screen is placed in the center, reflecting the theme of reimagining Hong Kong through a time portal.[1][2] Karena Lam was named the new ambassador of the Hong Kong International Film Festival in January 2024 starting from this edition, succeeding Aaron Kwok, who served for the past five years.[3] Lam also served as one of the jurors for the Firebird Awards.[3] She is the second woman to hold this position and the first female ambassador in over a decade (since Miriam Yeung in 2011), and she expressed a commitment to advocating for women's rights in the film industry, as well as promoting Hong Kong's cultural scene, which has faced challenges since the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of streaming services.[4][5]
Fruit Chan was announced as the Filmmaker in Focus for the festival on 2 February 2024.[6][7] Albert Lee, the executive director of the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society, explained that Chan was chosen for his creative and pioneering vision in Hong Kong genre filmmaking.[8] British-Irish filmmaker Martin McDonagh and Spanish director Víctor Erice were also announced as features in the Masterclass section later that month,[9][10] and both would be presenting at the festival in person.[11] A full lineup and the titles of the competitive sections were revealed on 8 March.[12][13] Other notable guests at the festival included Iranian actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Japanese musician Eiko Ishibashi, American cartoonist Bill Plympton, Indian documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan, Taiwanese filmmaker Tsai Ming-liang, Japanese filmmakers Kazuhiro Soda, Shusuke Kaneko, and Sho Miyake,[12][14] as well as Japanese actors Masaki Okada and Kaya Kiyohara, and Taiwanese actor Greg Hsu.[14][15] Ishibashi also gave a live performance on 30 March.[16]
The film festival opened on 28 March 2024 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre with the Hong Kong LGBTQ-themed drama All Shall Be Well, directed by Ray Yeung.[13][17] Events took place at various venues, including the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong City Hall, M+, iSQUARE, Times Square, and Elements.[1] A total of 190 films from 62 countries were screened, featuring five world premieres, six international premieres, and sixty-four Asian premieres.[18] Ticket prices ranged from HK$55 for weekday matinee screenings to HK$5,000 for a VIP pass to the festival.[19] The film festival was part of the Entertainment Expo Hong Kong, which celebrated its 20th anniversary, featuring events such as the 17th Asian Film Awards and the 42nd Hong Kong Film Awards taking place concurrently.[13][20] A new section, the CAA China Genre Initiative Projects, was added to the Asia Financing Forum, Hong Kong International Film Festival's project market.[21]
The Malaysian-Singaporean-Taiwanese historical drama Snow in Midsummer by Chong Keat Aun won the Firebird Award for the Young Cinema Competition (Chinese-language), while the Danish-Swedish psychological thriller Sons by Gustav Möller won the Firebird Award for the Young Cinema Competition (World).[22][23] The Austrian documentary Favoriten by Ruth Beckermann received the Firebird Award for Documentary Competition.[22][23] The Taiwanese film A Journey in Spring by Wang Ping-wen and Peng Tsz-hui won the FIPRESCI Prize.[24] The festival closed with the Japanese drama All The Long Nights by Sho Miyake on 8 April.[13][25]
Jury
The jury of the Firebird Awards comprises:[26]
Young Cinema Competition (Chinese-language)
- Fruit Chan, Hong Kong filmmaker
- Karena Lam, Hong Kong actress
- Zhang Xianmin, Chinese film scholar and artistic director
Young Cinema Competition (World)
- Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Iranian actress
- Lila Avilés, Mexican filmmaker
- Derek Tsang, Hong Kong filmmaker
- Carlo Chatrian, former director of the Locarno Film Festival and Berlin International Film Festival
Documentary Competition
- Lea Glob, Danish documentary filmmaker
- Du Haibin, Chinese documentary filmmaker
- Chen Wanling, former programme director of the Taiwan International Documentary Festival