Sundance Film Fest HK - 13 Independent Films Showcased, including Award-Winners and Hong Kong Premieres

The Summer HKIFF just ended last week, but HK-based film lovers don't need to worry, in two weeks we have another exciting festival coming up!  The 2016 Sundance Film Festival Hong Kong is coming from Sept 22 to Oct 2nd at the Metroplex Cinema in Kowloon Bay.  And of course alivenotdead.com is a media partner! (look for the banners at the top of the page when you are browsing through AnD.

Here's their press release -

Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong returns for the third time in September, with a delegation of independent filmmakers presenting a line-up that includes premieres of award-winning films direct from this year’s Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, U.S.A.  From September 22 to October 2, 2016, 13 selected films will premiere in Hong Kong, along with forum and panel discussions with filmmakers to satisfy every film lover’s needs.

Tickets will be for sale starting August 18 for The Metroplex VIP Metropolitans, and opens to the general public at 9am on August 22, 2016.

13 Independent Films Premiere in Hong Kong
with Filmmakers in Attendance

The 2016 Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong will showcase 12 narrative and documentary films from the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, including films from the U.S., UK and China. In addition, this year’s lineup includes the festival’s first local Hong Kong production as well as the winning entries from the festival’s Short Film Competition for local filmmakers.

Themes range from romance and friendship to parenthood and sexuality. These 13 outstanding films are: Swiss Army Man; Captain Fantastic; Christine; Equity; The Free World; The Intervention; Life, Animated; Lovesong; Southside With You; Spa Night; The Lovers and the Despot; Pleasure·Love and She Objects. Full summaries of each film follow below.

The Festival’s opening film will be Swiss Army Man, starring Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe, winner of the 2016 Sundance Film Festival Directing Award (U.S. Dramatic), from director duo Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan (aka The Daniels) – Swiss Army Man tells the story about a man going on an epic adventure with a dead body, which is also his last hope in escaping a deserted island. This outrageously imaginative indie hit will premiere in Hong Kong on September 23, with director Daniel Scheinert attending the post-screening Q&A session to meet the audiences.

Other filmmakers who will attend the 2016 Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong to engage in post-screening Q&As with audiences include: Matt Ross (Captain Fantastic), Antonio Campos (Christine), Meera Menon (Equity), Jason Lew (The Free World), Clea DuVall (The Intervention), Roger Ross Williams (Life, Animated), Richard Tanne (Southside With You), Andrew Ahn (Spa Night), Huang Yao (Pleasure·Love), and Nicola Fan (She Objects).

Josephine Lam and Stuart Wang, Directors of The Metroplex, said, “The third edition of Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong comes back bolder and richer. The tremendous success of the last two editions has proven that Hong Kong embraces the creativity of independent filmmaking. We remain committed to supporting the strong emerging independent film culture in Hong Kong as we enter the third year of collaboration with Sundance Institute on the Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong in 2016. Recognizing the important role that shorts play in cinema storytelling, and to nurture the creativity of local independent filmmakers, this year a shorts competition and a new short film program from Sundance Film Festival was brought to Hong Kong for the first time. For years to come and together with Sundance Institute, we look forward to growing this world class film festival into a must attend event for moviephiles in Hong Kong.”

John Cooper, Director of Sundance Film Festival, said, "This year's robust Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong lineup continues our tradition of connecting filmmakers and their unique stories to new audiences. We're pleased to expand this year's program to include the winning entry from our Hong Kong Short Film Competition alongside new feature-length works from American independent and international filmmakers."

New section “World Cinema”
to appreciate independent films worldwide

To further convey the spirit of appreciating quality independent films from all over the world, this year we introduce a new section “World Cinema” to the program, which includes three films: The Lovers and the Despot (UK); Pleasure·Love (China); and She Objects (Hong Kong).

The Lovers and the Despot and Pleasure·Love were featured in the World Cinema session at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival in Utah. The Lovers and The Despot tells the true story of one of Hong Kong’s most controversial kidnapping incidents; back in 1978, a South Korean celebrity couple (film director Shin Sang-ok and actress Choi Eun-hee) was kidnapped by North Korean supreme leader and film buff Kim Jong-il to produce films for North Korea. Rare recordings of Kim Jong-il allow the world to have a glimpse of what was going through the dictator’s mind.  Chinese director Huang Yao’s directorial debut Pleasure·Love was the only Asian film in Competition at the Sundance Film Festival this year; where audiences were intrigued by its beautiful images and portrayal on relationships.

Hong Kong production She Objects will bring some local flavor to the festival. This documentary discusses how the mass media and society’s stereotypes of women affect young girls nowadays. As the only Hong Kong feature film showing in the festival, it also carries a symbolic meaning, introducing local indie films to an international platform and encouraging cultural exchange through films.

Short Film Competition & Award-winning Shorts

With the vision of nurturing local filmmakers, The Metroplex and Sundance Institute organized the 2016 Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong Short Film Showcase earlier this year, which featured a collection of award-winning shorts, Short Film Master Class and Short Film Competition.

A wide range of entries has been received for the competition, and a panel of judges from the U.S. and Hong Kong will deliberate. The most outstanding shorts will be screened during the festival, alongside the feature film lineup. Winners and official lineup will be announced during the opening ceremony on September 22, 2016.

Panel Discussions & VR Forum
Hong Kong & U.S. Directors on Panel

The Filmmakers Panel Discussion has become a tradition at the Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong, where each year local audiences, indie-film lovers, and fellow filmmakers can meet our visiting directors and hear firsthand stories of making their film, alongside insight on the business side of filmmaking, including funding, casting, releasing and festival strategy. This year, there will be two sessions of panel discussion: on September 24, U.S. visiting directors will be on the panel; and on September 25, we are bringing in Hong Kong directors to join the U.S. directors on the panel. These filmmakers will exchange experience and insights, and compare filmmaking in Hong Kong and the U.S.  Both panels will be moderated by Trevor Groth (Director of Programming, Sundance Film Festival).

The rising popularity of Virtual Reality (VR) technology is exciting news for filmmakers, as it opens many new possibilities in terms of filmmaking. There will be a VR Forum on September 24 at The Metroplex, where industry experts and professionals will share their insights on the future development of VR, and how it could be incorporated into modern day filmmaking.

Admission fee for the above panels is HKD30 per person per show (with complimentary popcorn), interested parties can register online via hk.sundance.org. Panelist information will also be announced on the website.

2016 Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong priority booking for The Metroplex VIP Metropolitans begins on August 18, and opens to the general public at 9am on August 22, 2016. Tickets can be purchased at The Metroplex Box Office, The Metroplex Internet Ticketing ( www.metroplex.com.hk) and The Metroplex iPhone and Android Apps Ticketing (HKD8 handling fee will be charged for each ticket purchased online or via Apps).

Film ticket price: Adult - HKD90; Student/Child/Senior - HKD80. Become a VIP Metropolitan to enjoy 20% discount on single ticket and 30% discount on special package (includes 1 ticket for each film).

The 2016 Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong is co-organized by The Metroplex and Sundance Institute; with the support of the following parties –
Official VR Provider: LeVR
Official Post Provider: One Cool Production Ltd.
Official Providers: Perrier, Samuel Adams Boston Lager
Media Partners: Hong Kong Movie, Timable, alivenotdead.com
Friends of Festival:    Barco, Dolby, Hong Kong Film Development Council, Uber and
U.S. Consulate General for Hong Kong and Macau