The 27th Hong Kong Lesbian & Gay Film Festival (HKLGFF) boldly opens and closes with documentaries. As Festival Director Joe Lam puts it “Both documentaries captures the Eastern and Western LGBT community’s family, friends, relationship and discrimination.”
The festival’s opening film is South Korean documentary Weekends, a real life Glee. Gay men’s choir G-Voice write many of their own songs and are apparently the oldest choir in South Korea. Staying true to their own voices though is a challenge in such a conservative society. Director Lee Dong-ha gives an insight into the gay life of South Korea through the on-stage and off-stage stories of the choir members. Director Lee Dong-ha and 2 members from G-Voice will be present on the opening night to meet the audience.
Closing documentary Kiki is about the vogueing dance fight party subculture of New York that centres around the Kiki Ballroom. It’s a film about individuality and survival and follows the lives of seven people over four years. Filming their rehearsals, performances and personal lives, as they battle against problems such as poverty, homelessness, sickness, discrimination and prejudice.
Opening film ticket stubs are good for free admission and one free drink at the opening party at Maison Eight. Ticket stubs for the closing film audience earn admission and one free drink at the closing party at Koko.
The German/Mongolian production Don’t Look At Me That Way tells the story of a single mother Iva who falls desperately in love with her new neighbour, Heidi. Things get complicated when Heidi is attracted to Iva’s father instead. Actor and Director Uisenma Borchu will be attending the screening to meet the audience.
In the French production Summertime, it’s 1971 and Delphine a farmer’s daughter moves to Paris to break free from her family. There she meets feminist activist Carol and falls passionately in love, but when Delphine’s father suffers a stroke back home, she has to make a choice between her lover and her love for her land…
Documentaries
Apart from our opening and closing documentary, there are several other documentaries at HKLGFF. Chemsex exposes the dark side of modern gay London – a world of intravenous drug use and weekend-long sex parties. While society looks the other way, men struggle to make it out of ‘the scene’ alive aided by one health worker who has made it his mission to save them.
A joint Netherlands/Chinese production Inside The Chinese Closet documents the lives of gays and lesbians in China, who often have to live a double life in order to please their parents and conform with archaic attitudes to sexuality that still exist there.
Asian LGBT Films
Loev about the lives and feelings of the three Indian men of different social status is a rarity because in India homosexuality is still illegal. Sudhanshu Saria’s directorial debut was made in secret with the post-production taking place overseas.
Thailand however has a mature and well-developed LGBT film culture. Love Next Door 2 is a sex comedy about love, friendship and sex; while another Thai film at the festival Fathers discuss a more serious issue, the struggles and dilemmas a gay couple face when they decide to adopt a child.
Hong Kong director Scud’s fine body of work includes City Without Baseball (2008) and Amphetamine (2010) which have earned him a lot of respect in the local LGBT community. Scud’s latest work Utopians is about the fascination a dreamy boy has for his charismatic teacher. The HKLGFF will be screening the Director’s Cut.
2016 HKLGFF tickets are now on sale.
HK Lesbian & Gay Film Festival 2016
Date: 17 September – 2 October, 2016
Venue: Palace ifc ($110), The ONE ($95) & Broadway Cinematheque ($85)
Tickets: $110, $95, $85
More info: www.hklgff.hk