Hollywood Hong Kong & Shorts
Hollywood Hong Kong & Shorts
‘Forget First, Remember Later’, a subchapter of ‘Hong Kong: The Establishing Shot’, explores Hong Kong's constantly evolving cityscape, driven by innovation, development, and reconstruction. The works in this subchapter document the personal and collective memory of the city’s disappearing spaces and their landscapes, reminding us of the emotionally charged environment that remains archetypal Hong Kong.
Hollywood Hong Kong
Fruit Chan | 2002 | 35mm | Chinese & English subtitles | 108 min.
Director Fruit Chan forges an absurd tale in Hollywood Hong Kong, which depicts the brief period when Tai Hom Village—one of the largest shanty towns in Hong Kong—coexisted with Plaza Hollywood, a new shopping mall that is part of a private residential complex. Chu, who runs a small business selling meat on spits, lives in a village shack with his two sons. Tong Tong, a Mainland prostitute who aspires to a good life, lives in the upscale apartment nearby. The Chus’ peaceful existence is disturbed when Tong Tong enters their lives, instigating a collision between two worlds. In this polarising dystopia, the shanty town is transformed into a damp and rusty maze in contrast with the spanking new Plaza Hollywood. Hollywood Hong Kong has preserved the memory of Tai Hom Village, which was demolished in 2001.
The screening on 11 June will be followed by a post-screening talk in Cantonese with Fruit Chan.
Accompanying Shorts
Directed by Fredie Chan Ho-lun. The Arch, 2016. Photo: Courtesy of Chan Ho Lun Fredie
Emperor of Kowloon, 2000. Photo: Courtesy of The Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies of Hong Kong