Founded in 2023 by CHANEL and M+, M+ Restored is a three-year project with aims to raise the visibility of Hong Kong’s rich cinematic heritage through the digital restoration and showcase of nine feature-length films centred around Hong Kong New Wave cinema. We had the opportunity to speak with Li Cheuk-to, M+ Curator-at-large of Hong Kong Film and Media, about the project’s background from its initial concept in 2018, the historical significance of film restoration, and the selection criteria for inclusion.

What is the significance of film restoration?

Not all young people are aware of this, but up until over a decade ago, movies were universally shot on film. Unlike digital media, film is tangible; it fades, degenerates, deteriorates with time, or even disintegrates. If the film emulsion peels off, the images may be lost forever. Even when preserved in a temperature- and humidity-controlled environment, film is by no means a permanent vessel. Preserving cultural heritage is always essential. But beyond preservation, why is restoration also necessary?

What remains of old films may just be negatives and limited copies. These copies have likely survived countless screenings and other forms of erosion by time, and are hence full of scratches, white flecks, dust and dots, or seriously faded. Even minimally used negatives that should, theoretically, be in good condition are not immune from deterioration and disintegration.

The objective of restoration is to remove these flaws using modern technology, restore images and colours to their most ideal state, and bring back the original look. It’s not only about doing a good deed but allowing works from the past to be appreciated in their full premiere glory for generations to come.

Restorations and screenings are now fully digitised. While the change in medium means the finished product may not look exactly like the original, restoration and preservation have allowed the works to appear in a state extremely close to the original.

How did M+ Restored select films for restoration?

The word ‘selection’ conjures up a scenario where we had a perfect list and where copyrights and all materials for restoration could easily be acquired by contacting the studios or distributors. Reality was the exact opposite. Just as an exhibition is affected by the collection’s limitations and loaning conditions, the final list of a restoration project is the result of continuous negotiations between the curatorial vision and the changing demands of reality.

When considering titles for inclusion, naturally the most well-known and representative works came to mind. But adjustments turned out to be necessary due to a variety of reasons. A simple one is that the film had already been restored. For example, Boat People (1982), the best-known work of New Wave heavyweight Ann Hui, had been remastered in recent years; similarly, Hui’s first film The Secret (1979) had already been restored by the Hong Kong Film Archive (HKFA). It’s not only the HKFA—some distributors are known to assemble restoration teams to work on titles they produce or distribute. Another reason was the challenge of getting authorisation. Sometimes even if the copyright holder consented, the materials we found were in a less-than-ideal condition requiring more extensive restoration than previously thought. Having said that, these limitations only pushed us to explore more possibilities.

Take director Allen Fong for instance. We ended up including his third title Just Like Weather (1986). Although his first two works Father and Son (1981) and Ah Ying (1983) are, arguably, his more prominent works, Just Like Weather is no less significant. Not only do the married couple play themselves in the film, Fong appears on camera to interview them, in an experiential move to break the wall between documentary and feature film. Our selection criteria meant that we would consider any well-made film of the Hong Kong New Wave as long as it has unique distinguishing features and is culturally significant.

If art curation is about doing the best under constraints, curating this restoration project was no different. Constraints are not necessarily a bad thing. They can be an opportunity to produce even better results.

Why is restoring the films of Hong Kong New Wave Cinema crucial?

Hong Kong New Wave Cinema is the most important reform movement in Hong Kong cinema post-World War II. In my opinion, it wrapped up the transitional period of the 1970s, properly propelling Hong Kong cinema into its ‘modern’ era.

I consider the ‘studio era’ between the immediate post-WWII period to the 1960s, the ‘classical’ or ‘pre-modern’ period of Hong Kong cinema. Whether it was Cantonese feature films or the Mandarin titles of Shaw Brothers Studio and MP & GI, filming took place almost exclusively in highly controlled studio environments.

With the emergence of New Wave Cinema in the 1980s, location shooting became the norm. Although martial arts action movies still used built sets due to the possible damage incurred, they were no longer shot in conventional soundproof studios. Crucially, all elements, from cinematography and art direction to editing, came together to make films that looked and felt completely different. It was in the 1980s that the Chinese term’gong2 caan2 pin2’ (港產片), meaning ‘made-in-Hong Kong films’, was coined and it’s still in use today.

If the kung fu-dominated 1970s witnessed the transition between old and new, the New Wave was the watershed that brought true innovation and real change. It’s the ‘modern era’ when local subject matters were interpreted through Western film concepts, modernising Hong Kong cinema. This is what makes New Wave Cinema so significant.

Using 1979 as a starting year, this slice of history spans 47 years to date, nearly half a century. During this time, valuable primary materials and film have undergone varying levels of degradation or, in some cases, gone missing. Restoring these New Wave works was a task long overdue.