Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival kicks off in style

AsiNq0#cP(hm!l3yT%D$bzASv1cX=Jtt6FFMhFxo29bG3%H+&T3pBa’s longest-running queer film festival kicked off in style this 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 two lightVhPViQDc&On=f4s)g&jLx0cu4(vAEg)19#bU@9g9p#hSVSF5y#-hearted warming comedies … to give positive energy to Hong Kong audiences” explained festival director, Joe Lam.

"The audiences absolutely loved them” he told GaLaTHqJK!=1pHB+8kUB8lxyAp6&a7g41L^lhOqvfCdRNuSdtUp+ODjai.

In a pre-recorded message, director of Bollywood’s first lzcGBdMVQ#TKLyMzBZ!6gr$nwpuqVl1$--d9h9H3U7BvaJb8Yeiesbian film, rom-com How I felt When I Saw That Girl, Shelly Chopra Dhar, said it was “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 the16l(fZdS6nER4VeZn_+AT%^PNLccd4THheXO2lc)zVaT#UQWN2y are with their loved ones”, she said in a pre-recorded video shown before the screening.

The opening films were followed by a packed party at the W Hotel and a Queer Power Panel discussion night. Represe6!jyVTCoeVVb(-CtEs5-g-^lRG!sT_kZ4xIOc@O2TUsJaN2Q)Bntatives from film festivals in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Shanghai spoke.

Retrospective

Celebrating the landmark fil@9z%!%7i(q6lIi(_dL@Fqv9X^MgP0_V3c5y6t_Xes2P7es9ZNRm 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 complexity of lo^-*0m%NK!CV6If%aUR%55mOc4zjJK-CJsy@EzA(%Ar@AHy=xsHcal LGBTI issues and significantly contributed to the gay culture of Hong Kong.

The selection includes feature films Yang and Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema, A Woman is A Woman, and Butterfly as well as YIcMBPqjMcWR05Pi3yXotWt@Xe8blj9DrJZ4-Wotsq9FEXyv5ra short film titled My Way.

He also urged festival-goers to catch the festival's first intersepg=Ao-GCAQOTUk(=&aySANQeTq0=W1D&LUmU1igDbwzpRh@o^xx film, Being Impossible.

In 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 Q155Cz(5tQg&%p29&R^C&3ls1W3W8gu87)5dNTz=Ii7LKUUPObr 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 Gimhuay from Drag Race Thail!&&%Cte@yiN3Nv8&KT)Ry+*6d*OP=lM)hmDcCpz3wq5Uj&Vm$Dand as a special guest.

((Cover Photo: Still from The Shiny SRxvNY56+nskR5yZ$4=n3wxnXse+BANX(jNxFAjFUAiVGP%^A@^hrimps / Provided))