Roger Garcia:
Hong Kong Modern
Roger Garcia:
Hong Kong Modern
New Maps of the City Part One: Notes for Films, the first title from Roger Garcia’s Modern Films Production, established the self-sufficient approach he had initiated among a small group of experimental filmmakers in Hong Kong. In this pioneering work, Garcia drew inspiration from Close to Our Hearts, a script he wrote after returning to Hong Kong from the United Kingdom in 1977. Although the project never materialised because of a lack of funding and resources, Garcia adapted its elements—character lines, location shots, references to other films, portraits of a harpist—for this essay film, which traces a disintegrating relationship between a Chinese musician and his English wife, a photographer. Ruminating on the liminal space between text and image, Garcia seeks new ways of looking at a ceaselessly evolving city.
HKNY, released under Neo Films Production, is inspired by Italo Calvino’s novel Invisible Cities. Garcia draws on the concept of in-betweenness to construct a story of an individual (the filmmaker) reflecting on his position between Hong Kong, his birthplace, and New York, where he resides.
Roger Garcia. New Maps of the City Part One: Notes for Films, 1981. Photo: M+, Hong Kong; Courtesy of the artist.
Roger Garcia. New Maps of the City Part One: Notes for Films, 1981. Photo: M+, Hong Kong; Courtesy of the artist.
Roger Garcia. HKNY, 1992. Photo: M+, Hong Kong; Courtesy of the artist.
Roger Garcia. HKNY, 1992. Photo: M+, Hong Kong; Courtesy of the artist.
Roger Garcia. HKNY, 1992. Photo: M+, Hong Kong; Courtesy of the artist.
Roger Garcia. New Maps of the City Part One: Notes for Films, 1981. Photo: M+, Hong Kong; Courtesy of the artist.
Roger Garcia. New Maps of the City Part One: Notes for Films, 1981. Photo: M+, Hong Kong; Courtesy of the artist.
Roger Garcia. HKNY, 1992. Photo: M+, Hong Kong; Courtesy of the artist.
Roger Garcia. HKNY, 1992. Photo: M+, Hong Kong; Courtesy of the artist.
Roger Garcia. HKNY, 1992. Photo: M+, Hong Kong; Courtesy of the artist.
About the Artist
Roger Garcia is a film festival executive, producer, filmmaker, and writer. He has been the executive director of the Hong Kong International Film Festival and the Asian Film Awards Academy, artistic director of the Hainan Island International Film Festival, and curator, consultant, and juror to many international film festivals. He is a film producer who has worked in Asia, Europe, and Hollywood on films and TV. As a film critic, Garcia wrote books and articles that were published by Cahiers du Cinéma and Film Comment, among others. He served as a board member of M+ and was made Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in 2018.
Portrait of Roger Garcia. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Image at top: Roger Garcia. New Maps of the City Part One: Notes for Films, 1981. Photo: M+, Hong Kong; Courtesy of the artist