London is a city of constant flux, its streets filled with people who have come from all over the world, each carrying their own story. This September, the Hong Kong Film Festival UK returns for its third annual outing, bringing with it a collection of films that speaks to the very soul of this movement.
The festival, which will run from September 12 to 28, and then tour to other UK cities, presents a series of films that explore what it means to be in a state of transition—to be poised between a past you cannot return to and a future that is not yet fully formed.
The festival’s director, Ching Wong, explained that the theme of this year’s lineup—“transient and in transition”—is an ongoing conversation with the present. “We bring into focus a lineage of Hong Kong women filmmakers often overlooked,” she said, “while shaping this edition with ESEA practitioners embedded across our team and invited as guest programmers.” Wong sees the festival as a way to create a safe, reflective space for Hong Kong’s new and established diaspora, as well as the wider East and Southeast Asian communities, to see their shared identities made visible and openly discussed. The festival aims to create a sense of community through the act of watching films together.
Echoes of a Dystopian Future
Among the 52 films, including 18 features and 34 shorts, there are several that feel particularly urgent. The festival opens with Oliver Chan’s UK premiere of Montages of a Modern Motherhood, a social realist film that explores the exhausting life of a new mother. And it will close with Clara Law’s Drifting Petals, a personal, hand-held documentary that reflects on memories of Hong Kong and Macau.
One of the most compelling screenings is the 10th anniversary of Ten Years, an anthology film from 2015 that envisioned a dystopian Hong Kong in 2025. This film was banned in mainland China but became a sensation abroad. As the festival revisits the movie, it asks how its dark predictions hold up against the reality of the city today. Another film, Lawrence Lau’s 2000 cult classic Spacked Out, also gets a 25th-anniversary screening and restoration. The film follows four teenage girls navigating life in late-90s Hong Kong and, in its own way, feels just as relevant.
The festival also features two new films starring Anthony Wong: Valley of the Shadow of Death, in which a pastor struggles with his faith when the man who killed his daughter is released from prison, and Next Stop, Somewhere, a film about two people in exile from their homes in Hong Kong and Vietnam. Both films offer a new look at what it means to be on the run, to be a stranger in a strange land.
The Voices of Women and the Queer Community
A significant portion of the festival’s programming, more than 50% of the films, is directed by women of East and Southeast Asian backgrounds. The festival will honor pioneering female filmmakers, like Clara Law, with a retrospective of her work, including Farewell China and Goddess of 1967. There will also be a floating screening of the 1993 action classic The Heroic Trio starring Michelle Yeoh, Anita Mui, and Maggie Cheung.
The festival also highlights the work of emerging filmmakers. The world premiere of Tammy Cheung’s documentary Lviv Diary follows the lives of ordinary citizens in the ancient Ukrainian city. The film is a raw and personal look at how people find a way to live amid the chaos of war. Another premiere, Queerpanorama, a film from the Berlinale selection, explores the lives and desires of queer people in Hong Kong. This film, directed by Golden Horse-winning writer-director Jun Li, invites viewers into what the festival calls an “erotic labyrinth of bodies, connections, performance, and desire.”
Creating Community Through Shared Experience
The Hong Kong Film Festival UK is not just a place to see movies. The organizers have planned a series of interactive events designed to bring people together. A floating screening of The Heroic Trio on the historical boat Theatreship, a gaming pub event about the video game Sleeping Dogs, and a walking tour of Brick Lane to explore its diasporic history. These events create an opportunity for people to connect and discuss the films and their themes.
The festival, supported by the BFI Audience Projects Fund, is a small but important act of cultural preservation. It gives audiences a window into a city that is constantly changing and a chance to reflect on their own feelings about home, identity, and belonging.
“Hong Kong’s new and established diaspora, together with wider ESEA communities, continue to shape the UK’s cultural fabric,” Wong said. “A safe and reflective social space and films where shared identity is vital to be made visible, openly discussed and carried forward.”
The festival offers a chance to see a part of the world that, for many, is only a memory. But it also serves as a reminder that these stories are still being lived, and that the people who carry them are still finding new ways to be seen and heard.
Where to Find Tickets and Information
To explore the full program and purchase tickets, visit the official Hong Kong Film Festival UK website at hkff.uk. You can also find tickets on the websites of the venue partners, including the ICA, Picturehouse Central, Garden Cinema, The Rio, Theatreship, and others.
