RECREATION, SPORTS AND THE ARTS
The 15th festival presented a rich programme of 173 feature films and seven short films from 38 countries. The films were presented in four different sections, namely International Cinema, Asian Cinema, Hong Kong Panorama 1990-91 and Hong Kong Cinema Retrospective.
Highlights of the festival were a tribute programme on the works of Michael Powell and two Directors in Focus programmes on Aki Kaurismaki (Finland) and Idrissa Ouedraogo (Burkina Faso), two of the most outstanding film-makers in recent years. The Asian Cinema Section also offered special programmes paying tribute to three outstanding Asian actresses, Tuti Indra Malaon of Indonesia, Shangguan Yunzhu of China and Setsuko Hara of Japan.
The topic for this year's Hong Kong Cinema Retrospective Section was Hong Kong Cinema in the Eighties, in which 44 feature films were presented. Over 89 000 tickets were sold for festival events.
The International Arts Carnival
The annual summer festival, which entered its 10th year in 1991, was presented to stimulate the interest of children and young people in the performing arts and to provide cultural programmes for them during their summer vacation.
The Arts Carnival ran from July 19 to August 4 with a total of 28 shows of magic, mime, puppetry, shadow play, children's musicals and drama staged by four overseas groups and four local groups. In addition, a free funfair comprising a variety of shows and arts and crafts stalls was held at the Cultural Centre Piazza.
The programmes offered half-price tickets for students and senior citizens and attracted 60 888 patrons.
Chinese Theatrical Arts Festival
The Chinese Theatrical Arts Festival was a new Urban Council venture. It ran from October 25 to November 22 with eight prominent theatre groups from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, staging Beijing and Cantonese operas and contemporary theatre works of different styles. Outstanding overseas Chinese directors were also invited to work with the local companies.
Other features were a Theatre Arts Fair, an exhibition on Hong Kong stage designs and a series of lecture demonstrations.
Highlights of the festival included Tian Xia Di Yi Lou by the Beijing People's Art Theatre, Secret Love for the Peach Blossom Spring staged by the Performance Workshop from Taiwan and Fou Lei and Fou Ts'ong by the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre.
Entertainment Programmes
The Urban Council staged 267 entertainment programmes in parks, playgrounds, community halls, housing estates and community arts centres in the urban areas during the year. Most of these programmes were free and were attended by over 125 000 people.
Annual territory-wide events organised by the council included the Spring Lantern Festival, Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival, Summer Fun Festival, Mid-Autumn Lantern Carnivals, Concert in the Park and Christmas Carnival. About 685 000 people attended these events. The council also played a part in the co-ordination of the Lunar New Year Fireworks Display.
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