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In recognition of the invaluable contribution to Hong Kong﷿s film heritage by renowned film historian and researcher Yu Mo Wan, who passed away last month, an exhibition 䩕In Memory of Yu Mo Wan蒅 is being held at 3/F, Hong Kong Film Archive from today (May 11) until July 31.
The exhibition, organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, includes Yu﷿s life history, his contribution to film history research, images of his collection of film-related materials and clippings of oral history interviews.
Yu was born in Shanghai in 1930. He was passionate about film from childhood and started his research on Chinese film history in 1958. Inspired by the article 䩕Hong Kong film must have its own history蒅 written by a noted film publicist Weng Lingwen, he began conducting research on Hong Kong film in 1965.
He spent a great deal of time, effort and his own money collecting film artifacts and first-hand materials. His collection includes magazines, advertisements, supplements, posters and newspaper clippings related to film. More than 50,000 items of his collection are now kept in the Film Archive.
In 1995, after decades of working on his own, Yu joined the staff of the Hong Kong Film Archive as the Co-ordinator of Research Section and spearheaded the publication of the first issue of 䩕Hong Kong Filmography蒅.
His dedication to Hong Kong film did not stop after his retirement from the Film Archive in 2001. He continued his research, even venturing into the study of Cantonese Opera. He played a pivotal part in the establishment of the Cantonese Opera Museum in Foshan, China.
Yu﷿s publications include 䩕Anecdotes on Hong Kong Cinema蒅, 䩕Hong Kong Film History Series蒅, 䩕Miss Hong Kong and Hong Kong Film蒅, 䩕Stars from Yesteryears蒅 and 䩕Eighty Years of Hong Kong Cinema蒅.
With passion and determination on film research unswerving for more than 40 years, Yu won profound respect from researchers and filmmakers. In 2001, he received the Honorable Medal presented by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. He was also presented with the Profession Spirit Award by the Hong Kong Film Awards last year.
The exhibition opens from 10am to 7pm from Monday to Friday except Thursday. It opens from 10am to 5pm on Saturday and from 1pm to 5pm on Sunday and public holiday. For enquiries, call 2739 2139. Admission is free.
Ends/Thursday, May 11, 2006
Issued at HKT 12:46
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