Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival kicks off in style

Asia’s longest-running queer film festival kicked off in style this5EDrhCjFDl$pdjmM2B@VS@^)Jq9S+)E@hJXq0LYTTNrvb_hFXB weekend.

Celebrating its 30th anniversary, The Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (HKGLFF) opened on Saturday by screening a pair of comedies, How I felt When I Saw That Girl from India and The Shiny Shrimps from Spain.

“We chose the twogEdZY56*#hEAZHdy8S_^-7%_l!UB9pN-gTB*BeVf#nTT-EnIeZ light-hearted warming comedies … to give positive energy to Hong Kong audiences” explained festival director, Joe Lam.

"The audiences absowCxEQZz3x((sr30hf$=z$C%3qFkVAsGdUMnCkNy=95J-NGfyVTlutely loved them” he told GaLaTai.

In a pre-recorded message, director of Bollywood’s first lesbian film, rom-com How I felt When I Saw That Girl, Shelly Chopra Dhar, said it waB(+g8YPQcr5NVzoip9oe2x1TM3ql$fh7KwLGGV+VqKrz@c#w8us “totally her loss” that she was not among the audience.

“It is so fulfilling to know that people in the world have used this film as a tool to actually share who they are with their loved 9bEnox70gSzB5YGASWQGIaS1K_kCH*3ubvUP#y65DOKHnCKsWoones”, she said in a pre-recorded video shown before the screening.

The opening C)LH6v2iNNa_aB1&ibm-!n9CzBmy5cNy@a%xtM^Q_!3pvCyd@-films were followed by a packed party at the W Hotel and a Queer Power Panel discussion night. Representatives from film festivals in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Shanghai spoke.

Retrospective

Celebrating the landD$@HmaLX!$a%SaWMXZci*6$*26Xe87#6f8$EyGZ#8=eBrnW5Ytmark film festival's 30th anniversary, Lam said a highlight of the program is the Hong Kong Retrospective selection.

HKLGFF pays tribute to the films that explored the comeZ$vHkI8jBp!nyqz7yV!AVv&8PN2xf#NPBMKubk(PH68d9(r6Jplexity of local LGBTI issues and significantly contributed to the gay culture of Hong Kong.

The selection includes featureCx7J*bZNhIjHmySLUBsDpVgDkNoc)AZ@pRg%UyY2nT8V^VmK@J films Yang and Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema, A Woman is A Woman, and Butterfly as well as a short film titled My Way.

He also urged festival-gkaMN3Nbz7YmW6CKQLxl5#1SATwT0l3=3@N$j#rXd6FVKF^D6S&oers to catch the festival's first intersex film, Being Impossible.

(G!J%di!qoW3n6*es6=p0QP6f@@(s+yc!X!2%Cv=R^G6xh43cYIn another first, this year the festival will bring LGBTI cinema to more corners of the city. The We Are GAYbours initiative will see screenings and Q and As take place in residential district Sham Shui Po.

The festival’s closing gala on 21 September is set to include drag queen Miss RikbK6_U_FV7gdeBPEzhRS-fQ0aZh$n3GJU+8$Gj28)pG&FG1XGimhuay from Drag Race Thailand as a special guest.

((Cover Photo: Still from The S1AX7@4z$2EU4(HzB99^oi4E8QRR50t*IZKiexluhKPW7jei8muhiny Shrimps / Provided))