Today, the 45th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) announced this year's film list and program details.
In response to the "Hong Kong cinema is dead" theory (this year's director Oliyah Boyu), this year's HKIFF deliberately put two long-awaited Hong Kong films as "double opening films", unprecedented.
One is Weng Ziguang's new work about the "Four Chinese Detectives" in the 60s and 70s, "When the Wind Rises Again"; the other is "The Band of Seven", which has been preparing and filming for more than 6 years.
In the past decade, I am afraid that there has not been a new Chinese film like "Band of Seven", which is willing to spend such a long time to shoot, and no new film can have such appeal and set the most representative Hong Kong film directors of the 1980s.
Du Qifeng, Xu Ke, Xu Anhua, Lin Lingdong, Tan Jiaming, Hong Jinbao, Yuan Heping.
All because, the supervising producer is called Du Qifeng, and only Du Sir can summon this super luxurious lineup with a call. I dare not say that it is unprecedented ("The Night Feast of the Giants", "The Iron Triangle", etc. are so strong), as far as "Hong Kong films" are concerned, I am afraid that it is not the end, because some people in this list (Lin Lingdong) have already taken a step ahead.
Director, Executive Producer: Du Qifeng
What's more, this time the seven big directors all shot on 35mm film for the first time, just to pay tribute to the 80s they became famous, in form, it is already invincible.
Today, one of the producers, Huanya Film, also announced the first official trailer for the first time.
And the release of the introduction of the seven-segment film of "Band of Seven":
From the 1950s to the future, a film themed around the city of Hong Kong will be presented to the audience, while a cross-generational cast will also be on display.
The cast includes Golden Horse Film Emperor Wu Zhenyu, Golden Film Emperor Ren Dahua, Golden Film Award Best Supporting Actor Zhang Daming: powerful actors such as Zhong Jinghui, Lin Xue, Gong Cien, Yuanhua, Zhang Jincheng and Marseille, Hong Tianming, Liu Guochang, etc.
And there are a number of rising stars in the film industry, including: Yu Xiangning, Wu Pengtao, Lin Kailing, Wu Yongshi, Hu Zitong, Xu Haochang and Lin Yuxuan, etc., who have passed on the torch for Hong Kong films.
The seven directorial works include Hong Jinbao's "Practice", Xu Anhua's "Principal", Tan Jiaming's "Farewell Night", Yuan Heping's "Return", Du Qifeng's "Gold Everywhere", Lin Lingdong's "Lost", and Xu Ke's "Deep Dialogue".
Hong Jinbao's "Practice" features Hong Tianming as a martial arts master, playing a story of a master-apprentice inheritance.
Director: Hong Jinbao
Director Xu Anhua's "The Principal" is a campus story co-starring Wu Zhenyu and Marseille.
Director: Xu Anhua
In "Farewell to the Night" directed by Tan Jiaming, Yu Xiangning and Wu Pengtao play young couples who face parting due to immigration.
Director: Tan Jiaming
In Yuan Heping's work "The Return", Yuan Hua and Lin Kailing interpret the cultural differences between the two grandfathers and grandsons. Lin Kailing is regarded as one of the most promising rising stars in recent years.
Director: Yuan Heping
Du Qifeng, who is also the executive producer, directed "Gold Everywhere", during the SARS period, three small citizens who wanted to develop all day long were starred by Wu Yongshi, Hu Zitong and Xu Haochang.
"Lost", which wrote "Lost" under the giant wheel of the times, the city has become a completely different appearance, directed by Lin Lingdong, starring Ren Dahua, Gong Cien and Lin Yuxuan.
Director: Lin Lingdong
In "Deep Dialogue" directed by Xu Ke, Zhang Daming, Zhang Jincheng, Lin Xue and Liu Guochang play the doctors and patients of the psychiatric hospital, bringing out an abnormal world.
As early as the Hong Kong International Film Festival in 2015, "Seven- Band" held its first press conference, which was not called "Eight and a Half Parts" at that time.
The movie poster originally titled "Eight and a Half Parts"
The original lineup also included Wu Yusen.
The eight directors took the form of a lottery to decide the era of their respective shooting, Wu Yusen drew the 1970s, but unfortunately due to physical reasons, he could not participate in the shooting, and "Eight and a Half" was renamed "Band of Seven".
"Band of Seven" is led by Sir Du, which is not surprising at all.
Every time something happened in Hong Kong, Sir Du was the first to stand up.
He is a standard "red pants boy" background, that is, starting at the bottom of the TV station, climbing and rolling, from the TV circle to the film circle, from assistant director to big director, no one misses the meaning of this place in Hong Kong more than he does.
In 2002, he filmed "New Year's Wealth", even if you touch a bad card, don't give up, and you must play the cards well in adversity;
In 2004, after the previous year's experience of SARS by all Chinese, he filmed "Judo Dragon and Tiger List" with the intention of inspirational, intended to encourage those who were depressed;
In 2008, "Wen Que" was used to remember the most beautiful Hong Kong era, and the old photos of Hong Kong at the end of the film were like mourning.
Wen Que (2008)
It's easy to see why Sir Du will make this movie together in 2015 with seven peers.
Sir Du said in an interview:
"Hong Kong filmmakers are not very good, they are very united. If you think about the seven directors who don't say a word, do what they say, many countries may not be able to achieve this. I think "Band of Seven" is a very important milestone, in the history of film, Hong Kong has never tried seven directors to walk together... The subject matter is some feelings about Hong Kong. ...... The most important spirit of this is that we all grew up in the film age, we all went through various processes, and everyone respects the film thing, because without it, we would not exist. This thing is a tribute to film, so everyone shoots on film. Of course, each director has a different performance, but it is the feelings of Hong Kong people."
The first wave of stills released today by Band seven
These seven directors are themselves a history of "Hong Kong films":
Hui Anhua, Xu Ke and Tam Ka Ming were the standard-bearers of the new wave of cinema in Hong Kong in the early 1980s, while Hong Jinbao, Du Qifeng, Lin Lingdong and Yuan Heping were all "Hong Kong legends" who grew up step by step from the lowest level of the film industry.
It is with them that the glorious era of Hong Kong cinema in the 80s and 90s was constructed, and the seven "musicians" of "Band of Seven" are exactly like the seven voices and seven legendary movements of this great and magnificent era.
Rather than being a film that pays homage to the film era, "Band of Seven" is a brief history of "Hong Kong-made films" rather.
It is reported that the film will be released in the mainland in April after the Hong Kong International Film Festival.
This will be the first must-see of this year's Chinese films.
This article was first published in the Adventure Movie: Cinematik
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