Hong Kong Film Directors Guild annual Spring dinner

The Hong Kong Film Directors Guild had its annual Spring dinner this year on Thursday, Feb 19th. Directors who have made two commercially released local films are eligible to join the Guild. Around 100 veteran and emerging directors, and guests attended the festive event.

Me and Lam Wah Chuen (dir, Nothing is ImpossibleMade in Hong KongRice Rhapsody Infernal AffairsPainted Skin

John Sham (actor, producer), Mabel Cheung (dir,The Soong Sisters City of Glass Empire of SilverThe day after I received the invitation I got a phone call from the Guild secretary letting me know that all directors are requested to perform during the dinner. Since it was all for good fun, few declined. Some brave souls, such as Stephen Fung (dir, ) Barbara Wong (dir, ), and Arthur Wong (cinematographer, ) did it solo while most of us performed in groups.

Stephen Fung

My ensemble  consisted of Philip Chan (actor, director, producer), Mabel Cheung, Alex Law, Chi-kin Kwok (dir, ) and finally, a professional singer/musician, Lai Siu Tin (Michael Lai), who played keyboard for us. We sang a Mandarin song called “ ” (sounds kinda corny in English, but much more poetic in Chinese), a beautiful ballad by Taiwanese songstress Tsai Chin. I played the guitar and provided background vocals. I don’t have a clip of our performance, but here’s how it should be sung:

One of the highlights was Teddy Robin’s rendition of “Wipeout.”

Teddy Robin & band

Awards were also handed out and it was a big evening for Wilson Yip, who won three prizes, including Best Director for .

Dog Bites Dog)John Woo and Ann Hui were also honored for and , respectively.