The Cinematheque

VIFF 2021

Céline Sciamma (Portrait of a Lady on Fire) said she binged on Ann Hui’s films for inspiration during France’s COVID lockdown. She’s not the only fan of the director, who received the Venice Film Festival’s 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award. A catalyst of Hong Kong’s New Wave movement in the 1970’s, Hui still stays true to her social conscience and humanist vision, standing out proudly in a relentlessly commercial industry. Directed by leading production designer Man Lim Chung, this documentary seamlessly weaves interviews and archival material into a Who’s Who of Asian cinema. Hui displays her storytelling genius not only with celluloid but in humourous, candid conversation. Moments of her doting on her mother (whose extraordinary life inspired Hui’s Song of the Exile) and majestic Persian cat flesh out her endearing personality. As Hong Kong is engulfed in a sea change, it’s essential to revisit this 40-year artistic trajectory, which not only mirrors the roller-coaster ride that is Hong Kong cinema, but parallels the poignant yet resilient course of its history.

M/A/D: Music, art and design receive their deserved big-screen treatment.