Some of Asia's most celebrated filmmakers and actors from China's Hong Kong, Malaysia and Japan graced the red carpet grand opening of the 49th Hong Kong International Film Festival with the world premiere of two Asian films at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui on April 10.

Veteran Hong Kong actor-director Louis Koo Tin-Lok, Japanese actress Ando Sakura, and Malaysia-born Hong Kong actress Fish Liew were among those in attendance. Japanese director Nakashima Tetsuya and Malaysian Chinese director Chong Keat-aun were also recognized at the event while Koo was honored as filmmaker-in-focus for his contributions to the local industry.

During the opening ceremony, Koo shared that no matter which role he played – be it an actor, director or producer – each role has a learning curve and has different challenges. He said it teaches him to be stronger and persistent. He appealed for support from the Hong Kong government to collaborate on incorporating more technology and artificial intelligence to help the local film industry.

Tetsuya's film The Brightest Sun and Chong's Pavane for an Infant were the opening films featured at this year's festival. Both directors gave fans and industry experts an insight into the process of making their respective films.

Tetsuya shared that for his film, he had to work with both professional actors and real-life people with disabilities without acting background to give the audience the rawness of the acting and how professional actors communicate at work.

Chong, meanwhile, said of his film, which tells the story of a local baby hatch in Malaysia and is set around the end of Ramadan, that he had to interview several women aged between 18 and 27 to learn about the challenges they faced. He noted that a lot of people focused on the economy and financial side after the COVID-19 pandemic and the movie allowed them to explore these social issues and the choices women made for their bodies.

Liew shared with the audience that the stories she mostly encountered were challenging and at times impacted or suppressed her acting.

HKIFF Society Chairman Wilfred Wong was also present at the event.
This year's HKIFF will showcase nearly 200 films from various countries, including 52 Asian premieres, and will be shown across cinemas, the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and Hong Kong Arts Centre. The HKIFF will also hold some fireside chats and welcome renowned filmmakers such as acclaimed French director Leos Carax, Spanish filmmaker Albert Serra, Finnish director and screenwriter Juho Kuosmanen and Japanese film director and screenwriter Yaguchi Shinobu, to name but a few.

The online voting for the Audience Choice Awards was also launched after the completion of the first screening on April 10. Polls will end at 11:59 pm on April 21 with the results expected to be announced by noon time the following day. Members of the public are invited to visit the HKIFF's official website (www.hkiff.org.hk) for more details.