PARIS CINEMA


Hong Kong comes to Paris


This year’s Paris Cinéma will showcase films from Hong Kong and co-production projects from the territory. Melanie Goodfellow reports


Ann Hui’s A Simple Life


Kong cinema as part of its celebrations. “Paris Cinéma always organises a


P


country-themed focus. For our tenth anniversary we wanted to focus on a ter- ritory with a really dynamic fi lm industry and a strong influence on French cin- ema,” says festival director Aude Hesbert. “Hong Kong seemed a perfect choice.


On the one hand it’s glamorous with its stars and famous directors. On the other, it has a powerful, dynamic indus- try. It also has a great tradition of cinephilia which was very much in keeping with the spirit of Paris Cinéma,” she continues. The festival, running June 30-July 10,


wants to explore a wide panorama of Hong Kong cinema, ranging from the melodramas of the 1950s and 1960s to rarely screened pictures of the Hong Kong New Wave of the 1970s and 1980s, to the latest features from a new genera- tion of fi lm-makers. “We really want to show films that


haven’t been seen before in France. We want to steer clear of the martial-arts pictures, which we have already fea- tured in previous editions,” says Hes- bert. “The fi lms of the Hong Kong New


■ 12 Screen International March 2012


aris Cinéma, which fetes its tenth anniversary this summer, is plan- ning a special focus on Hong


Wave, for example, are relatively unknown in France. We want to show the work of Patrick Tam, Allen Fong and even Ann Hui, who is not that well known here in spite of the festival suc- cess of A Simple Life.” The festival director will be in attend-


ance at Filmart this year in the company of Paris Cinéma president Charlotte Rampling for a press conference on March 21. They will announce details of a spe-


cial partnership with the Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) with the support of the Hong Kong Film Development Council as well as more details on the Hong Kong Focus. “We are working closely with the fes-


tival’s Roger Garcia and Li Cheuk-to. It wouldn’t be possible to do this without their assistance and expertise,” says Hesbert. The programme is still under devel-


opment but confirmed guests to date include fi lm-maker Johnnie To. He will accompany a selection of works from the Fresh Wave Short Film Competition he set up in 2005 to nurture young directors. The shorts will screen in a special sidebar devoted to the Fresh Wave initiative. Aside from the focus, the festival’s


Paris Project co-production initiative also plans to invite four Hong Kong projects to the event that runs during the fi rst part of the festival. “Paris Project is a unique event


‘We wanted to focus on a territory with a really dynamic film industry and a strong influence on


French cinema’ Aude Hesbert, Paris Cinéma


because it focuses primarily on the French market. It’s the place to find a French co-producer or even sales agent or distributor. We’re keen to get the word out that we’re looking for Hong Kong projects,” says Herbert, adding the application deadline is April 20. The fes- tival also plans to run a special industry event aimed at fostering co-productions between Hong Kong and France. Launched in 2003, Paris Cinéma is a


public festival. At the heart of its pro- gramme are some 50 pre-premieres of fi lms due to be released in France over the summer or in the autumn. The festi- val also holds a competition aimed at independent features. Its hub is the MK2 Bibliotheque mul-


tiplex but festival fi lms screen in a vari- ety of venues across Paris. In 2011, the festival registered 71,707 spectators, a 10% rise on 2010. Other events during the festival


include its night-long cinema marathon, the Nuit du Cinéma, as well as its clos- ing Ciné-Karaoké, which last year was attended by some 3,500 people. 


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