• A series of talks, post-screening conversations, and workshops brings together M+ Restored filmmakers and restoration experts to reflect on the legacy and future of Hong Kong cinema
• All nine M+ Restored titles to return to M+ Cinema this autumn
• The contemporary Hong Kong and Chinese Mainland films Hand Rolled Cigarette (2020), The Crossing (2018), and Port of Call (2015) are paired with three M+ Restored titles for the M+ Restored Festival, enduring themes and connections across cinematic generations
• A new cycle of restorations, supported by CHANEL, will launch in 2027, showcasing six visionary Asian films by filmmaking duos whose enduring chemistry has shaped new cinematic languages

M+, Asia’s global museum of contemporary visual culture in the West Kowloon Cultural District (WestK) in Hong Kong, presents the inaugural M+ Restored Festival (the Festival), celebrating the culmination of a three-year initiative supported by CHANEL, to restore and showcase Hong Kong New Wave films on the global stage. For the first time, all nine M+ Restored 4K restorations, spanning works from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, will be shown at M+ across selected weekends in November and December 2026.

Following premieres at leading international film festivals in Cannes, Venice, and New York, and presentations at numerous renowned film and cultural venues around the world such as the British Film Institute, EYE Filmmuseum, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Cinémathèque française, and the Thai Film Archive, the programme has reached over 130 screenings across 44 cities in the past year. The Festival marks both a celebration of M+ Restored’s achievements in preserving Hong Kong’s cinematic legacy and a homecoming for works that have reintroduced Hong Kong cinema to audiences worldwide.

The M+ Restored Festival invites audiences to explore Hong Kong's rich cinematic heritage through screenings of newly restored classics, alongside filmmakers’ conversations, panel discussions, and workshops. Bringing these landmark works together for the first time, the Festival offers a rare opportunity to experience Hong Kong cinema both on and beyond the screen.

Launched in July 2023 as part of a three-year partnership between M+ and CHANEL, M+ Restored expanded the visibility of Hong Kong's cinematic legacy through the restoration and international presentation of nine feature films in 4K: The Arch (1968), The Butterfly Murders (1979), The System (1979), Love Massacre (1981), The Story of Woo Viet (1981), Homecoming (1984), Just Like Weather (1986), Cageman (1992), and Durian Durian (2000). Spanning more than three decades, these works reflect a transformative period in Hong Kong cinema marked by creative experimentation, technical innovation, and evolving social narratives. The new cycle of restorations to be launched in 2027 will present six visionary films from across Asia. This group of films celebrates the creative partnerships of individuals whose artistic chemistry has ignited innovation and spearheaded new cinematic languages.

M+ Restored classics in dialogue with contemporary Hong Kong films

The M+ Restored Festival pairs selected M+ Restored titles with contemporary films from Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland, revealing enduring themes and creative continuities across generations of Chinese-language cinema. Ann Hui’s The Story of Woo Viet (1981) is presented alongside Chan Kin-long’s Hand Rolled Cigarette (2020), bringing together two examples of genre cinema from filmmakers who examine the social realities of their times. Yim Ho’s Homecoming (1984) is paired with Bai Xue’s The Crossing (2018), connecting the journeys of two young women navigating life between Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland. Fruit Chan’s Durian Durian (2000) screens with Philip Yung’s Port of Call (2015), highlighting both directors’ nuanced onscreen portrayals of the often-overlooked life experiences of Chinese migrants. Together, these pairings present uncover evolving perspectives on migration, identity, belonging, and social change, while demonstrating the enduring relevance and continuing influence of Hong Kong cinema across generations.

Post-screening conversations and workshops

A series of post-screening conversations invites filmmakers Ann Hui, Chan Kin Long, Bai Xue, Yim Ho, Cheung Chi-sing, Jacob Cheung, Philip Yung, Fruit Chan, and George Chang to reflect on the filmmaking process and continued significance of their restored works. Complementing these conversations, the Behind the Restoration Talks bring together restoration specialists, producers, scholars, and film practitioners to discuss the technical challenges of film restoration and the growing international interest in revival and repertory cinema. The popular interactive workshop What Is Film, Anyway? also returns to M+ Cinema, offering participants opportunities to experience analogue formats ranging from professional 35mm to amateur 8mm film as they gain first-hand insight into the physical materials that make cinema possible.

Suhanya Raffel, Museum Director, M+, says, ‘We are proud to bring together all nine restored films at M+ Cinema as we celebrate this significant achievement for M+ Restored. The M+ Restored Festival reaffirms M+’s long-term commitment to safeguarding Hong Kong’s moving image heritage and sharing these landmark works with future generations. We are deeply grateful to CHANEL for the generous support of this initiative. Having reached this milestone, we are also looking ahead to the next chapter of M+ Restored and our continued efforts to share Asia's film heritage with audiences locally and internationally.’

Silke Schmickl, CHANEL Lead Curator, Moving Image, M+, says, ‘M+ Restored has been made possible through the dedication and collaboration of our supporting partners across the film industry. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has contributed to this journey. The nine restored films capture distinct moments in Hong Kong’s socio-cultural development. They also exemplify the creative experimentation that defined the Hong Kong cinematic legacy. By bringing these works back to Hong Kong and presenting them alongside contemporary films, the festival creates new points of connection between past and present, highlighting the enduring impact of Hong Kong cinema across generations.’

Since 2025, M+ Restored has fostered international dialogue about Hong Kong cinema through public programmes, screenings, and festival presentations. Starting from a landmark conversation between distinguished actor Tilda Swinton and pioneering filmmaker T’ang Shushuen on film preservation, the initiative achieved the significant milestone of over 130 screenings worldwide, introducing restored Hong Kong classics to audiences around the world. Highlights include the world premiere of The Arch (1968) by T'ang Shushuen at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, Cageman (1992) by Jacob Cheung at the 50th Hong Kong International Film Festival, The Story of Woo Viet (1981) by Ann Hui at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, and Just Like Weather (1986) by Allen Fong at the 64th New York Film Festival.

Quotes from the films’ directors about the M+ Restored initiative

As a visitor on this Earth, I've frequently been perplexed about the human condition. I believe that, with cinema, we could explore the motivations and behaviours of its characters as a way to understand our views on our own preoccupations. A subtle narrative could serve as subtext to understand and experience the world from both a subjective and an objective point of view. To me, that is at the heart of cinema and that was precisely my motivation behind making The Arch. I am deeply grateful to M+ for inviting me to participate in this project, and I hope audiences will connect with and enjoy the film.

──T’ang Shushuen

After much exploration, we developed the framework for the world of The Butterfly Murders, distinguishing it from typical wuxia stories by centering around the theme of butterflies committing murder, much like a Hitchcock’s movie.

Excerpts from a public conversation with Tsui Hark at M+, 2024

Back then, making films of this genre was quite unconventional, and hardly anyone understood what we were trying to capture. The dedication of the cast and crew behind the scenes was essential. In the end, bringing The System to life was a rare milestone in my career—a chance to deliver a truly authentic and realistic piece of cinema. I am deeply gratified that M+ has restored this film and brought it to global audiences.

──Peter Yung

I never saw or treated Love Massacre as a film belonging to the horror genre. It’s about desire unfulfilled, or love unrequited, which might be the cause of madness and violence for a person. The violence that broke out in the film’s second half is only a logical development for the male character who is trapped in his own obsessions.

Excerpts from an interview with Patrick Tam in The Metrograph Journal, 2024

I have always been very fond of the screenplay for The Story of Woo Viet, and I am grateful to M+ for restoring the film. To see it still being appreciated by audiences after so many years brings mixed emotions, but also a sense of joy. What means even more to me is that I am still able to meet audiences and talk with them about the film. I am curious to see how contemporary viewers will respond to The Story of Woo Viet.

──Ann Hui

Grieving my father's passing, I was bewildered: I felt a sense of loss for something I can no longer grasp, something in life that cannot be put into words. As I got on the set, fragments of moments and memories emerge time and time again, and these fleeting, unexpected encounters mirrored my own dazed state of mind. I asked the cinematographer to capture this. Uncle Cha (editor's note: This refers to the wuxia novelist Mr. Louis Cha, also known as Jin Yong) recognized this feeling from my film and verbalized it, which then became the Chinese title of my film, Homecoming.

──Yim Ho

I've reached the point where conventional structures no longer interest me. What I want is to speak directly to the audience, and I'll invent whatever shape it takes to get there.

Excerpts from a director’s statement by Allen Fong in the 11th Hong Kong International Film Festival catalogue, 1987

Cageman was the first film in which I experimented with long takes. To see M+ restore the film and recover its original texture with such meticulous attention to detail feels nothing short of miraculous. Watching the film again more than thirty years later, I feel that its pacing still speaks naturally to audiences today. I am looking forward to seeing their reactions and sharing my own thoughts on revisiting it.

──Jacob Cheung

I was delighted to learn that M+ was restoring Durian Durian. Among my works, it is one of the films I most hoped would be preserved. During that period, I made a number of films that captured Hong Kong’s social realities at a particular moment in time. Seeing Durian Durian return to the big screen today is immensely rewarding.

──Fruit Chan

About M+

M+ is Asia’s global museum of contemporary visual culture. Located in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District (WestK), it is dedicated to collecting, exhibiting, and interpreting visual art, design and architecture, moving image, and Hong Kong visual culture of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The landmark M+ building on Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbourfront was designed by the world-renowned architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron in partnership with TFP Farrells and Arup. It spans a total floor area of 65,000 square metres, featuring thirty-three galleries alongside a Learning Hub, Moving Image Centre, Research Centre, and Roof Garden, among other event and programming spaces. The M+ Facade is one of the largest LED screens in the world, showcasing commissioned artworks on the Hong Kong skyline every evening. The museum stewards a multidisciplinary permanent collection that includes objects from regions across Asia and beyond. A highlight is the M+ Sigg Collection, one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of Chinese contemporary art. Today, M+ is a nexus for researching and presenting contemporary visual culture, inspiring thought and curiosity.

About the West Kowloon Cultural District (WestK)

WestK is one of the largest and most ambitious cultural hubs in the world and Hong Kong’s new cultural tourism landmark, spanning forty hectares alongside Victoria Harbour. WestK comprises a mix of landmark arts and cultural facilities, including world-class museums M+ and the Hong Kong Palace Museum, intricately designed performing arts venues such as the Xiqu Centre, Freespace and the WestK Performing Arts Centre to be opened in 2027, as well as the eleven-hectare Art Park with a waterfront promenade.

Hosting over one thousand exhibitions, performances, programmes, and events each year, WestK provides a vital platform for both emerging and established artists. WestK welcomes more than seventeen million visitors in 2025, evolving as the international cultural brand of Hong Kong and strengthening the city’s strategic role as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange.

About CHANEL Culture Fund

The CHANEL Culture Fund fosters a vibrant network of creators and innovators to advance the ideas that shape culture worldwide. Core programmes include CHANEL’s Art Partners, institutions whose leaders are supported in the development of groundbreaking, long-term initiatives that bring transformation to the cultural landscape. The CHANEL Next Prize celebrates artists and accelerates their future successes through access to resources and mentorship. And the podcast CHANEL Connects amplifies the voices of thought leaders across disciplines, generations, and geographies—tackling the defining issues of our time.

From driving artistic innovation with technology at CalArts in Southern California to catalysing creative freedom at scale at Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin, from championing game-changing artists at the Venice Biennale to celebrating the brightest directors at the British Film Institute, the CHANEL Culture Fund extends a century of commitment to the arts and champions creative audacity for a better future.