Heiße Ware aus Hong Kong

In 1982, Wim Wenders asked 16 of his fellow directors to speak on the future of cinema, resulting in the film Room 666. Now, 40 years later, in Cannes, director Lubna Playoust asks Wim Wenders himself and a new generation of filmmakers (James Gray, Rebecca Zlotowski, Claire Denis, Olivier Assayas, Nadav Lapid, Asghar Farhadi, Alice Rohrwacher and more) the same question: “is cinema a language about to get lost, an art about to die?”

The turmoil that has overtaken Hong Kong since its return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 has spawned a new generation of young, passionately committed activist filmmakers; they want to tell Hong Kong's story with Hong Kong voices. And the best indie documentary to have emerged so far from the HKSAR is this year's Yellowing, by Chan Tze Woon, a 29-year-old with degrees in policy studies and film production. Hong Kong's fraught, tense relationship with its mainland Chinese overseers came to a head with the Umbrella Movement of 2014. A crowd of protesters stormed Civic Square on September 27. The next day police shocked most residents of the HKSAR by attacking the growing crowds with volleys of tear gas, whereupon a wide cross section of Hong Kongers occupied the streets in several areas and stayed for almost 6 weeks. Chan took his camera on the streets for 67 days during these events.

The film charts the origins of the Umbrella Movement through the eyes of the activists and ordinary people who made it happen. From the June 4th Candlelit Vigil until September 28th, this documentary puts us at the heart of the action, allowing us to experiencing the highs and lows of that remarkable summer, when Hong Kong witnessed a "blossoming of democracy."

In the aftermath of 2014's Umbrella Revolution, five Hong Kong activists are confronted with the question of what it means to be Hong Kongers.

Classic film star and queer icon Montgomery Clift’s legacy has long been a story of tragedy and self-destruction. But when his nephew dives into the family archives, a much more complicated picture emerges.

Franco Mella is a devoted figure whose life bridges Catholicism and Communism. He has journeyed through Asia, lived simply, and fought for social justice, notably within Hong Kong's protest history as depicted in "Ordinary Heroes" (1999). Mella's path weaves through religious and revolutionary movements, from church beginnings to Communist activism and the Handover, always driven by his missionary spirit and communist ideals. For four decades, he has steadfastly championed the oppressed, undeterred by shifting politics, expressing solidarity through music and protest, and remaining a symbol of wisdom and resilience for the people of Hong Kong.

As notions of civil rights transformed across the world, so was the screen landscape reformed by the ascension of grassroots film movements seeking to challenge the mainstream. Some aspired to push form to its limit; others worked to destabilise what they saw as a homogenous industry, or to provoke questions around gender, sexuality, migration and race.

Memories of his four-year journey focused on the Hong Kong protests. Narrated in the first person, is rich with reflections and contemplations, most intertwined with feelings of guilt.

Black Rain White Scars depicts a twilight of reality. With the steady shot of a Gotham-like cityscape, Lukas Marxt guides us between vestiges of visionary architecture and narrow planted apartment buildings. As we’re searching for our relational point within it, the overwhelming murmuring of the human, car, and boat traffic, at the same time marginalises our position. We are a part of the scenery, though secluded and apart from it.

A look at the man behind the legend, capturing the real Andy Warhol, as an artist and as a person, as he travels through China, from Hong Kong's glitter to the mystique of Peking's Forbidden City. Set in the Far East, the story begins with the opening of the most elegant jet set watering hole in Asia, Hong Kong's “I Club,” whose owner, a young Chinese millionaire, decided to try an experiment: to transplant the most advanced, far-out Western culture to the Far East in a multimillion-dollar club that offers everything from restaurants and bars, to a health club and even an art gallery. Warhol is invited to attend the opening as a guest of honor showing his “Celebrity Portraits.” The result of this cultural experiment was varied. Emotions from the “I Club” and Warhol's work ranged from outrage to indifference to wonder.

In late 2009, over twenty Hong Kong civic groups united as the "Anti-High-Speed Rail, Stop Funding" coalition, aiming to halt Legislative Council approval of the HKD 66.9 billion Express Rail Link amid deep social rifts. The "Post-80s Anti-High-Speed Rail Youth" group drew thousands of young people with their slogan “Defend Our Homeland, Protest with Joy,” leading to three funding suspensions that surprised the public. Media coverage was intense and innovative, featuring rare camera angles and lively online debate among journalists. This documentary explores how reporters shaped the movement, their emotional involvement, and the dynamic relationship between the media and activists during Hong Kong’s pivotal 2009–10 protests.

An 88-Minute documentary about how Jackie Chan broke the mold (and his bones) with his daring choreography in the 1980s.

This documentary tells the story of Bruce Lee and his unsuccessful efforts to start a acting career in the U.S., he returned to Hong Kong where he became an international star, and his death at age 32.

Death by Misadventure: The Mysterious Life of Bruce Lee exposes the truth behind Lee's death and the cover-up that ensued.

Four years later, Hong Kong’s 2014 democratic Umbrella Movement has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, yet political backlash against protesters has intensified. Repeatedly the target of censorship*, Raise the Umbrellas traces the lineage of the massive Hong Kong protest to the global Occupy movement, 1989 Tiananmen, and its democratic struggles since British colonial days. Highlights range from the Umbrella Movement’s eco-awareness and its burgeoning aspiration for independence, to its empowerment of women -- “umbrella mothers” -- and the rainbow-bridging activism of LGBTQ iconic artists. Incisive and intimate, driven by stirring on-site footage in a major Asian metropolis riven by protest, Umbrellas includes anti-Occupy views that lay bare the sheer political risk for post-colonial Hong Kong’s universal-suffragist striving to define its autonomy within China.

Industry professionals speak on how theatre changed their lives until film was deemed obsolete. 10 years later, their friendships, the movie business and the entire world would be forever altered yet again but now by a deadly pandemic.

Hong Kong and Taiwan are 2 islands inextricably linked by their huge neighbour. Modern metropolises full of eastern traditions, they're forging forward in the 21st century as China's little dragons. Traveller Megan McCormick begins her journey in Hong Kong, looking out at the incredible skyline from Victoria Peak. She then takes in the contrasts of the city before taking the ferry visit Tap Mum Chau and Lantau Island. After a flight to Taiwan she explores the capital Taipei, ending her trip with a visit to its most remote outpost - Orchid Island.

They are frozen in place, stagnating without any direction. Around them, things change rapidly.

This is the story of the bodybuilder, Martial Artist and actor who wrote his own destiny and walked his own path. A legendary tale that's never been told on-screen before.

An inventive remembrance of the impact of the Hollywood blacklist on two American classics, rendered as a visually mesmerizing dialogue between Carl Foreman and Elia Kazan.