RECREATION, SPORTS AND THE ARTS
Hong Kong International Film Festival
Hong Kong International Film Festival presented by the Urban Council is one of the world's major annual non-competitive film festivals.
The 16th festival in 1992 presented a programme of 170 films from 31 countries. The films were divided into four sections, international cinema, Asian cinema, Hong Kong Panorama 1991-92 and Hong Kong Cinema Retrospective.
International Cinema featured Nitrate Can't Wait (But Films Don't Burn): Archival Treasures which was a series of masterpieces preserved by overseas archives and private collectors. In this section, the organiser also paid tribute to the late German director R.W. Fassbinder. In the Asian Cinema, special homage was paid to Chinese director Ling Zifeng and Japanese actress Li Xianglan (Yoshiko Yamaguchi). The Asian Beat Road Movies Series was chosen as an outstanding selection of latest Asian films. In Memory of Three Asian Filmmakers marked the recent deaths of three respected filmmakers, G. Aravindan of India, Lino Brocka of the Philippines and Permpol Cheyaroon of Thailand. The Hong Kong Panorama 1991-92 showed Hong Kong's top-quality productions of 1991, while the Hong Kong Cinema Retrospective featured 36 films under the theme of Overseas Chinese Figures in Cinema.
Over 82 000 tickets were sold in the festival.
Hong Kong Independent Short Film Competition
To promote the production of quality non-commercial short films and encourage creative independent film production in the territory, the first Hong Kong Independent Short Film Competition was launched in 1992. It comprised three sections: fiction, non-fiction and animation.
International Arts Carnival
The annual summer festival of the Urban Council entered its 11th year in 1992. It serves to stimulate the interest of children and young people in the performing arts and provide cultural programmes for them during their summer vacation.
The carnival took place in July and August with a total of 25 shows of magic, mime, puppetry, acrobatics, children's musical and drama, music and ballet staged by seven local groups and three overseas groups. In addition, a free fun fair, comprising a marching band, variety show, magic show, cartoon video wall, and games, arts and crafts stalls, was held at the piazza of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.
The carnival attracted a total audience of 68 913.
Festival of Asian Arts
The 14th Festival of Asian Arts presented by the council was held in October and November, featuring seven local and 10 overseas performing groups.
Performers from Hong Kong, China, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Korea, Turkey, Tajikistan and Australia presented various facets of Asian culture, ranging from east-west jazz to folk and modern dance, and from traditional to modern musical theatre. An exhibition of Chinese painting and calligraphy by Guangdong and Hong Kong artists was held at the Hong Kong Museum of Art.
Recitals, free outdoor performances, dance workshops and lecture demonstrations related to the theme of the festival were also held. An Asian food parade featuring Asian epicurean delights was presented during the festival period.
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