Patra Au Ga-man and former starlet Maggie Li Lin-lin play an ageing same-sex couple. When one of them dies, the other is thrown into a nightmarish legal battle with the partner’s family. Yeung’s bittersweet film takes Hong Kong to task for the lack of legal protections for its LGBT+ citizens.
2. Gift
Now the work has been reimagined again as a silent feature, once more featuring Hitoshi Omika and Ryo Nishikawa as father and daughter and accompanied by a special in-person performance from Ishibashi herself.
3. Snow Leopard
4. Black Box Diaries
Fledgling reporter-turned-documentarian Shiori Ito examines systemic misogyny and outdated attitudes towards sexual violence in Japan by revealing her own life-shattering ordeal in this riveting and deeply troubling film.
In 2015 she was raped by one of the country’s most powerful journalists, who proceeded to use his ties with top political officials, including former prime minister Shinzo Abe, to avoid prosecution and destroy Ito’s reputation.
5. Dahomey
Idiosyncratic filmmaker Mati Diop documents the restitution of ancient African royal treasures, stolen from the kingdom of Dahomey by French troops, in Dahomey, winner of the Golden Bear for best film at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival.
Diop’s film follows this major diplomatic coup in commendably succinct and direct fashion, and makes a profound statement about the impact of colonialism on developing nations, and the repercussions that linger to this day.
6. Io Capitano
In Italy’s official entry for the recent 96th Academy Awards, Matteo Garrone tackles the ongoing migrant exodus from North Africa into southern Europe from the unique perspective of those risking their lives to fulfil their dream of a better life.
Balancing the horrifying with dreamlike serenity, achieved through magical realism, Garrone’s approach is one of hope and optimism, anchored by an extraordinary performance from Seydou Sarr, best young actor award winner in Venice.
7. In the Rearview
There is an extraordinary number of documentaries at this year’s festival that capture the struggles endured by ordinary Ukrainians following their country’s invasion by Russian forces.
Perhaps the most memorable of these is Polish filmmaker Maciek Hamela’s film, set almost entirely within the confines of his car, as he voluntarily ferries displaced survivors and refugees through the war zone that was once their home to relative safety across the border.
8. Hollywoodgate
Following the complete withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan in 2021, Egyptian filmmaker Ibrahim Nash’at was granted extraordinary access to the chaos that ensued.
Shadowing Mawlawi Mansour, the Taliban’s newly appointed air force commander, Nash’at’s camera is privy to terrifyingly banal conversations about past and planned atrocities, as well as witnessing the immediate appropriation of medicine, office supplies, weapons and military vehicles abandoned by the Americans.
9. Tatami
Winner of the best actress prize at Cannes for her unforgettable performance in Holy Spider, Zar Amir is fast becoming world cinema’s pre-eminent advocate for the rights of Iranian women.
The actress and filmmaker will be at HKIFF to discuss her work, on and off screen, which is realised most effectively in this gripping sports drama, which she co-directed with Guy Nattiv, about a young female judo competitor (Arienne Mandi) who finds herself at the centre of an international political incident.
10. Favoriten
Proof positive that not every film tackling the subject of immigration need be a gruelling ordeal, Ruth Beckermann’s uplifting film about the Austrian elementary school system is an absolute delight.
Following a single group of young children over the course of four years, we witness the challenges they face, both as young people and as immigrants without a usable grasp of the German language, through their eyes and everyday classroom experiences.
11. Exhuma
A monster hit at the Korean box office, this supernatural thriller continues Jang Jae-hyun’s obsession with faith-based horror. It follows a pair of young shamans tasked with exhuming a wealthy family’s ancestral gravesite.
The trio enlist the help of Choi Min-sik’s veteran exorcist, and unwittingly unearth an ancient evil. What follows is a hugely entertaining blend of ghoulish scares and existential trauma sure to delight the late-night horror crowds.
12. Sons
Danish director Gustav Möller follows up his festival favourite The Guilty with this super intense prison drama featuring Swedish superstar Sidse Babett Knudsen.
When a violent young inmate (Sebastian Bull) arrives at her prison, a veteran warden (Knudsen) requests to be transferred to the maximum security wing so she can be closer to this remorseless killer.
Her motivations are not immediately apparent, but what unfolds is a breathless tête-à-tête that challenges the effectiveness of correctional systems.
13. Kubi
An elaborately interwoven tale of betrayal and revenge to rival any of his labyrinthine yakuza thrillers, Kubi recounts the story of man’s unbridled thirst for power on a scale that eclipses anything the director has previously attempted in a 40-year career.
14. Fruit Chan retrospective
One of Hong Kong’s most enduring and celebrated mavericks, Fruit Chan Gor is the subject of a comprehensive retrospective celebration at this year’s festival.
15. Martin McDonagh masterclass & films
The Academy Award-winning director of In Bruges and The Banshees of Inisherin will be in Hong Kong to discuss his body of work and attend screenings of all of his films.