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Hong Kong film 'Septet' will open the Busan Film Festival
By Rachelle / 25 Sep 2020 (Friday)
Septet: The Story of Hong Kong is an anthology film made by seven of the most renowned Hong Kong filmmakers and will open the 25th edition of the Busan International Film Festival.
The list of filmmakers include Sammo Hung, Ann Hui, Patrick Tam, Yuen Wo Ping, Johnnie To, Ringo Lam, and Hark Tsui with actors Simon Yam, Francis Ng, Yuen Wah, Timmy Hung, Cheung Tat Ming, Lam Suet, Lawrence Lau, Emotion Cheung, Jennifer Yu, Mimi Kung and Sire Ma also involved. The film spans from the 1950s to present time, with each director undertaking a decade.
Production for Septet took over four years and was shot entirely on 35mm film, as the project was originally intended as Hong Kong filmmakers' farewell to 35mm film.
The 25th Busan International Film Festival will run from October 21-30 and will shrink by a third due to the challenges posed by the coronavirus. The reduced format means that most events involving human contact have been canceled, including the opening and closing ceremonies, red carpet, receptions, and parties. On-stage greetings and other guest meetings are all either canceled or shifted online. The only real-world screenings will take place on five screens within the Busan Cinema Center and all tickets must be booked in advance and online. Current COVID-19 restrictions limit capacity to 50 people per screening.
Festival organizers said that they were delaying the event by two weeks in order to avoid possible virus fallout from this month’s Korean Thanksgiving holidays (Chuseok). If Chuseok creates a new wave of infections, the festival could be canceled outright.