Opening ceremony for 20th anniversary of Hong Kong Film Archive cum premiere of 4K digitally restored "The Valiant Ones" held today (with photos)
******************************************************************************************
Officiating guests at the ceremony included the Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, Mr Vincent Liu; the donor of the Tai Ping Theatre's artefacts, Ms Beryl Yuen; and the film donor of "Days of Being Wild" (midnight screening version), Mr Gordon Fung.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Liu said that with its mission of preserving Hong Kong's cinematic culture, the HKFA is dedicated to collect, conserve and restore Hong Kong films and related materials. Mr Liu thanked various members of the society, especially the film industry, for their generous donations to the HKFA that have helped preserve Hong Kong's cinematic culture.
He added that film restoration plays a vital role in preserving Hong Kong's film heritage. In recent years, the HKFA has invested its efforts in film digitalisation projects, sharing the results with the public through its screening programmes.
Today's ceremony also premiered a promotional video specifically made for the HKFA 20th anniversary starring the emerging actor, Terrance Lau. Another video that was filmed last month showed the donation from movie star Rebecca Pan of the award statuette of Best Supporting Actress at the 28th Golden Horse Awards, and the letter of honour of Best Supporting Actress at the 36th Asia-Pacific Film Festival.
The opening film of "Treasure-Hunt Stories", the 4K digitally restored version of "The Valiant Ones", is the first 4K digital restoration project carried out by the HKFA. Self-funded by director King Hu, "The Valiant Ones" is a wuxia masterpiece that tells of a famous general in the Ming dynasty fighting against marauding Japanese pirates with a band of lionhearted warriors. The film carries the classic signature of Hu in its martial arts choreography and aesthetics.
Hu deposited the film's negatives with the HKFA in 1996 for permanent storage. Scratches were found, and the following year, the HKFA digitally restored the negatives. Compared with the first digitally restored version, the version shown during tonight's screening is of a quality much closer to the condition of the film's original release.
To mark its 20th anniversary, the HKFA is presenting from today until December "Treasure-Hunt Stories", with the theme of "acquisition and sharing", screening 36 archival gems collected between 1992 and 2012.
Apart from "Treasure-Hunt Stories", the HKFA has organised a stream of programmes for celebration including the exhibition "Out of the Past - From the Tai Ping Treasure Trove" that will be held from May 28 to October 17 at the HKFA Exhibition Hall. The exhibition will showcase over 100 paper items donated by Ms Yuen, the third-generation owner of the Tai Ping Theatre. A free-admission fun day will also be held on May 29 at the HKFA for the public to join a variety of exciting activities. For programme enquiries, please call 2739 2139 or visit www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en_US/web/hkfa/20a-programmes.html.
Situated at 50 Lei King Road, Sai Wan Ho, the HKFA first started operation on January 3, 2001, housing a cinema, an exhibition hall, a resource centre, film vaults and restoration laboratories. In addition to its mission of preserving film heritage through the acquisition and restoration of film prints, the HKFA has also forged ahead in research, publications, screenings, exhibitions and various other activities, introducing the riches of Hong Kong's cinematic heritage to film lovers and the general public. Since its establishment, the HKFA has collected over 1 million film artefacts locally and overseas. The HKFA is a member of the International Federation of Film Archives.
Ends/Friday, April 30, 2021
Issued at HKT 21:58
Issued at HKT 21:58
NNNN
Photo
