Newly opened Hong Kong shopping destination K11 Musea will host the first-ever Festival de Cannes Film Week to be held in Asia.
The program for the festival, which runs from November 12-17 at the K11 Art House, was released today.
Six films from the Official Selection 2019 of Festival de Cannes will be screened, (their details are below).
Adrian Cheng, founder of K11 Group and executive vice-chairman of New World Development, said K11 Musea was created to enrich communities with “a truly inspiring waterfront destination and world-class cultural events”.
“We are thrilled to collaborate with Pierre, Thierry and their team to deliver the essence of the prestigious festival, which highlights our ethos of building a ‘Silicon Valley of Culture’ for all to enjoy. This is a world-class curated event that not only entertains, but inspires the next generation and propagates cross-cultural dialogue among like-minded art and culture lovers. We look forward to introducing more world-class cultural events for our international audience moving forward.”
“The whole world comes to visit us in Cannes every year in May to celebrate the art of film and to discover the latest works of the greatest filmmakers of our time, to check the pulse of the international world of cinema,” added Pierre Lescure & Thierry Frémaux, president & general delegate of Festival de Cannes.
“What we want to do now here in Hong Kong is initiate a different movement. This event is primarily about reaching out. We want to meet cinema-goers from around the world, but also the people who work here in Hong Kong all year round, the people who are at the heart of this industry: the filmmakers, actresses, actors, producers and local distributors who will be with us during this exceptional week.
“Hong Kong is the ideal place for it. Filmmakers like Wong Kar-wai, Johnnie To, Ann Hui or Tsui Hark have contributed to building the legend of Cannes and we therefore feel honoured to be welcomed here in return.”
Six films to screen
The six films to screen at K11 Musea are:
- Young Ahmed, directed by the Dardenne brothers, and winner of the award for Best Director.
- Portrait of a Lady on Fire, the winner of the award for Best Screenplay.
- The Traitor, the latest work by Italian director Marco Bellocchio.
- The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmão, winner of the Un Certain Regard Prize.
- The Climb, winner of the Un Certain Regard Jury’s “Coup de Cœur” Prize.
- On a Magical Night (Chambre 212), winner of the Un Certain Regard Best Performance Prize for Chiara Mastroianni.
Beyond the films, Festival de Cannes Film Week attendees will have an opportunity to enjoy three masterclasses. The first, on November 13, will feature a surprise guest. On November 14, Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne will present a masterclass during their first appearance in Hong Kong. And finally, on November 15, Thierry Frémaux will provide a detailed insight into the works of the Lumière brothers.
