On the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the People’s Republic of China, HKETO Berlin sponsored a series of top-notch film festivals in different European cities. To kick things off, HKETO Berlin supported the “Hong Kong Window” at the 18th Zurich Film Festival, Switzerland’s largest autumn festival. Next, HKETO Berlin took pride in sponsoring the “Hong Kong Cinema in Motion” section at the 16th Five Flavours Asian Film Festival in Warsaw, which was primarily dedicated to South and Southeast Asian cinematography. Finally, HKETO Berlin’s series of sponsorship was concluded by the 18th Filmasia festival in Prague, which showcased a rich mix of nine Hong Kong films under the “Hong Kong Tribute” section.

The 18th Zurich Film Festival featured 146 films from around the world from 22 September to 2 October 2022. Hong Kong’s movies have been showcased in a dedicated Hong Kong Window section in this prestigious festival since 2015. This year, Sunny Chan’s Table for Six was shown as the opening film of the Hong Kong Window on 23 September 2022. Ms Jenny Szeto, Director of HKETO Berlin, officiated the opening, highlighting the position of Hong Kong as an East-meets-West hub for international arts and cultural exchange. In addition, this year’s edition of the Hong Kong Window also featured three other Hong Kong movies, namely the Biopic movie Anita by Longman Leung, the action thriller Detective vs Sleuths by Kafai Wai, the crime thriller Infernal Affaires by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, alongside a virtual version of the photo exhibition named “Making Waves – Navigators of Hong Kong Cinema”, which highlighted the works of some of the most iconic unit photographers in Hong Kong.

The 16th Five Flavours Asian Film Festival opened its door to the cineastes in Warsaw from 16 to 23 November 2022, and from 16 November to 4 December 2022 to the online community around the globe. This year’s Hong Kong Cinema in Motion showcased the creative diversity and rich history of Hong Kong films over the past 25 years. “Septet: The Story of Hong Kong” – a collection of seven short movies from Hong Kong’s top directors – was presented as the opening of Hong Kong Cinema in Motion. Ms Jenny Szeto, Director of HKETO Berlin, shared at the opening reception about the Hong Kong Government’s latest efforts in supporting the development of a vibrant arts and cultural sector in Hong Kong as announced in this year’s Policy Address “Charting a Brighter Tomorrow for Hong Kong”.

HKETO Berlin hosted the opening of the 18th Filmasia Asian Film Festival on 1 December 2022 in Prague, with a total of nine Hong Kong films presented under the cinematic programme of “Making Waves – Navigators of Hong Kong Cinema”. One of the highlights at the opening screening was a live Q&A session, which allowed the Czech audience to meet the director of the opening film Chilli Laugh Story, Coba Cheng, through hologram technology. Apart from Chilli Laugh Story, HKETO Berlin was proud to present eight other Hong Kong productions at the festival which ran from 1 to 6 December 2022. Filmasia also curated the “Making Waves” photo exhibition at the prestigious Gallery Lucerna, which was also available online, as a tribute to the Hong Kong film industry.