HKIFF50 ends on a high note as Firebird Awards winners glow in glory

S Viswanath

The 12-day milestone Golden Jubilee – 50th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF50) drew curtains down on an eventful film festival with the pledge to similarly keep its momentum and reputation going into the next fifty years.

The film festival concluded with the announcement and giving away of the Firebird Awards and FIPRESCI Prize at the Awards Ceremony held at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, marking the film festival’s formal closure at the glittering function where the who’s who of the filmdom were present soaking in the halo of the paparazzi’s and fan’s awe-struck attention.

The festival saw Linka Linka named Best Film for the Young Cinema Competition (Chinese Language) from among eight films that were in contention for the prestigious honour. The three-member Jury Philip Yung, Liang Ming and Edward Lam picking the award winner and commending the film for “adeptly portraying the freedom and confusion inherent in the journey of youth.” Film director Kangdrun received the award from HKIFF50 special guest presenter and renowned French actress Juliette Binoche. According to the jury’s citation and appreciation “through its light and nuanced cinematic expression, this film adeptly portrays the freedom and confusion inherent in the journey of youth.

The narrative framework is wisely designed, providing a distinctive exploration of the local landscapes and cultural essence of the hometown. The film exudes a strong contemporary vibe, presents a rich and multifaceted interpretive space, and delivers a refreshing viewing experience full of surprises.

”Further her eclectic work saw Kangdrun also receive the FIPRESCI Jury comprising film critics – Panos Kotzathanasis, Sara Simić, Timmy Chen Chih-Ting awarding the critics prize and praising the film “for its original depiction of urban Lhasa, capturing the unique spirit of the Linka way of life, a narrative that gradually reveals its full coherence in a smartly conceived ending, ultimately reflecting on the instability of memory and the elusiveness of objective truth.”The jury also picked Tan Si You as Best Director for Amoeba, “for successfully synthesising all of these elements for the journey of growing up. The journey of growing up is hazy, raw, destructive, and yet can also be constructive.

As a source of inspiration, it is both collective and personal. In film, this journey is sometimes mischievous, sometimes haunting; the haunting aspect is solitary, while the mischievous aspect is passionate.

This year’s Best Director award goes to the filmmaker who has successfully synthesised all of these elements in his work,” observed the Young Cinema Competition (Chinese Language) jurors.Yu An-Shun from A Dance With Rainbows, and Ong Xuan Jing from Ah Girl received the Best Actor and Best Actress awards respectively.

The jury praised Yu for “infusing a wealth of vitality into a unique male character”, and Ong for “driving the film’s emotional tone”. The jury further eulogised that “this actor has infused a wealth of vitality into a unique male character, delivering a precise and multifaceted portrayal of the complex psychology of a man caught in a web of relationships.

His performance is seasoned, rich in texture, utterly captivating and thoroughly convincing!”As regards Ong Xuan Jing the jury praised the actresses stating “through her performance in the film, this actress invites the audience to look at the fragile and fickle nature of adults through the eyes of a child, even offering a glimpse into the helplessness of adulthood. She drives the film’s emotional tone and embodies its very essence, remaining steadfast in her embrace of both love and sorrow.”Likewise, from among the eight films that vied for recognition in the Young Cinema Competition (World) category, saw Rose by director Markus Schleinzer chosen as Firebird Award winner with the three-member Jury comprising renowned Hungarian director Edi Goan Yidi, Indonesian director Edwin and Program Director of Belgium’s Ghent Film Festival Wendell Witt, appreciating the director for making “this eerily, brutally beautiful film” that “burns into our memory forever.

There are good films and then, there are films which burn into your memory forever. We were lucky enough to experience, among the especially outstanding selection, this rare event. We will never forget this eerily, brutally beautiful film.”Andrius Blaževičius garnered the Best Director award with How to Divorce During the War, earning the jury’s commendation for “forging the intimate, the personal with the big, blind forces of history in a strongly original way.

The director of this surprisingly mature and multilayered film forges the intimate, the personal with the big, blind forces of history in a strongly original way. He mixes humour with the deeply touching. Although it is local, it relates to all of us, living anywhere on this globe.”Edik Beddoes and Sabine Thalau won the Best Actor and Best Actress awards for their distinguished performances in Blue Heron and I Understand Your Displeasure respectively. Beddoes was recognised for “his restrained and subtle portrayal of a troubled son”, while Thalau for “her portrayal of a human lost in the system, and fight to find back her integrity”.

In the Documentary Competition, the Jury comprising, former chairman of Korean Film Promotion Committee and director Park Ki-yong, Hong Kong filmmaker Tsang Chui-shan and producer Elli Nyali, awarding the Firebird Award to Past Future Continuous, co-directed by Morteza Ahmadvand and Firouzeh Khosrovani. The jury commended the directors for their “heartfelt portrayal of the longing of exiled souls and minds who are forbidden from returning to their homeland”.

The film’s blurred boundary between fiction and non‑fiction elevates it to something both poetic and strongly cinematic. A wonderful achievement.The Ground Beneath Our Feet by Yrsa Roca Fannberg took the Jury Prize for “affirming that every human being has the right to spend their final days in dignity. The film’s remarkable naturalness makes us feel as though we are visiting our own elderly parents living there.

The film beautifully affirms that every human being has the right to spend their final days in dignity and to die in peace.”French director Jocelyn Charles’ 15 min God is Shy impressed Jury of renowned British artist and experimental film director Ben Rivers, South Korean animation director Jung You-mi, and Wen Nian (Man Lim-chung), Hong Kong art director and costume designer “with its exquisite animation in turning spooky stories into the most colourful nightmare,” received the Firebird Award in the Short Film Competition.

“Two friends telling spooky stories on a train, making us laugh, turns into the most colourful nightmare. The meaning of all things too great to hear, shown with exquisite animation,” the jury opined.The Jury Prize went to the 19min Robert and June (And All the Time in the World) directed by American filmmaker Jem Cohen, “who crafts a beautiful and gentle portrait of June Leaf and Robert Frank in their twilight years.

A beautiful and gentle portrait of June Leaf and Robert Frank, in their twilight years, images and sounds capturing their life between the city and nature, between working in their studio and quiet life at home.”_Adieu, au revoir, Zàijiàn, Zoi gin_ HKIFF50! Thanks for a wonderful and exciting festival. See you in 2027.